The interaction between nature and society is an often-reoccurring topic in my work. I’m always in search of places where the line between the two is as thin as possible. The thinner this line, the more visible the friction becomes.
In my search I ended op in Newport, where the harbour used to thrive from the mining industry of Wales. After the collapse of this industry, the whole society suffered. A lot of people lost their jobs, riots happened and people moved away in search of a better life. Everything became run down. Buildings were closed or just forgotten. The people who stayed, licked their wounds and tried to fix their lives as good as possible. Distrust however had seeped into their lives. They would build walls and fences around their property to make clear that it’s theirs and nobody else should touch it. Slowly the past became a scar; a scar that I tried to photograph.
This scar was visualized on a map by the Taff-trail. It shows the route that the coals used to follow from the mines close to the Brecon Beacons to the harbour of Cardiff.