[poignant music featuring acoustic guitar and violin]
Female Narrator: The period Chris Killip documented was marked by a number of historical events, including the miners’ strike that began in March 1984 and ended a year later. In this image, miners, their families, and members of the local community watch a parade.
Chris Killip: It’s in Durham, when the miner’s gala parade is going by. The man knows me, that’s holding the baby. If you look very carefully at his hand, it says, ACAB on his knuckles. That’s a tattoo. All coppers are bastards. It’s his hatred for the police who are really taunting the miners when they’re on picket lines.
[music ends]
Female Narrator: As the government threatened to close the mines, confrontations between the police and the miners became common.
Chris Killip: They weren’t striking for more money; they were striking for an alternative form of employment. They knew if you closed the mine, it would be the end of this community, and they wanted to talk about what alternatives were on offer, and the coal board would not talk.
Female Narrator: The strike didn’t succeed.
[poignant music featuring acoustic guitar and violin]
Chris Killip: The steelworks were closed; shipyards were closed; and coal mines were closed. It’s very hard to replace an industry that employs over a thousand people in one place. No work was brought to these areas. Those villages often became riddled with drug abuse and very high unemployment. They’ve gone through terrible times.
What I actually photographed and what I am is the photographer of the de-industrial revolution in England. At the time, I didn’t set out to be this. It’s what happened during the time that I was photographing.
[music ends]
