The bradford pit project
NAME : Bradford Pit Memorial DATE : 2020 CLIENT : Lauren Murphy (BPP Lead) Sub Client: MCC & MCFC LOCATION : Sport City, Etihad Campus, Manchester PARTNERS : CB Arts, Manchester School of Art, Scribble-stone, Printed Film Co, Adrian Wright
Aim
To create a physical Memorial to the legacy of the Bradford Pit - embedded within the location that it is remembering. And for this memorial to act as physical marker to the wider Bradford Pit Project, highlighting the unique process of engagement and layers of collaboration in it’s 7 year duration.
Project
We started to work with Lauren Murphy in 2014, with the aim to help her realise her vision of physical memorial for her Grandad and the Bradford Pit mining community.
Our role was to understand the whole process, ambitions and engagements undertaken and to respond specifically with designs and methodology in order to realize the full scope of the project.
Process
Through Lauren Murphy, communication with the Bradford Working group has been essential for the progress of the project. The miner’s group has been central to this development process, participating in multigenerational workshops with their end goal always being a memorial sited at the former pit head.
During consultation, it became apparent that they desired the memorial to be obvious and clear in signposting to the former Mine. They did not want the piece to be abstract, however it was our desire for the memorial to also not be seen as generic. From early design stages – we knew we should incorporate work developed in response to the Bradford Pit Project and somehow encapsulate this - while maintaining strong imagery in recognition of the mine.
Concept
The physical memorial structure represents a lift shaft cage. It allows the viewer to imagine being lowered into a subterranean world below the streets of Manchester and to recognise the history and legacy of this site.
In order to recognise the significant contributions to the Bradford Pit Project - the final design features the drawings of former Illustration student Jacob Phillips and graphic design in the map by academic Jonathan Hitchen - which we saw as forming the identity of the project.
The materiality and scale was important in order to have a presence within the new landscape. We tested the layers of imagery encapsulated in the glass - allowing a transparency to the site, but also re-iterating the layers of history here. The piece was fabricated and installed by our close friend and partner CB Arts, and the glass by Printed Film Co.
“The sculpture was fabricated in our workshop in Ulverston. Built in Corten the sculpture was left to weather naturally to create the ‘rust’ patina.
The project has been many years in the pipeline and is a huge credit to the relatives of the miners who have worked hard to realise the memorial.”
Installation
Site
The Bradford Pit Memorial is significantly situated as close as possible to the original pit head, acting as a visual beacon in a wide and expansive landscape – providing clues to the significant history of the site - which now is home for Sport City and the Etihad Stadium. The design is a direct reflection of research into the site - highlighted in the overlaying map graphic.
The design was featured in the ISADR Radical Research Exhibition 2019
“This installation presents a life size visualisation of a memorial which commemorates the industrial heritage and community of the former Bradford Colliery in East Manchester, now occupied by SportCity and Etihad Stadium.
It is the culmination of The Bradford Pit Project, initiated in 2013 by Lauren Murphy, a BA(Hons) 3D Design alumnus, and her research into memorial crafts.
The project evolved through a public engagement process which led to the development of archives, a collection of oral histories, exhibitions and practical workshops engaging a spectrum of audiences. Ian Whadcock and former academic Jenny Walker, worked with a number of students from the School of Art to produce a range of visual responses to this material. In 2016, in collaboration with Broadbent Studio this culminated in a small grant from the City of Manchester to realise the aims of the project, in the form of a permanent memorial on the site.
The design is a collaboration between Lucy Gannon and external partners Broadbent Studio. It features the drawings of former Illustration student Jacob Phillips and graphic design by Jonathan Hitchen. The physical memorial structure represents a lift shaft cage. It allows the viewer to imagine being lowered into a subterranean world below the streets of Manchester and to recognise the history and legacy of this site.”
Community engagement
The memorial will continue to have a community focus - as the piece will hopefully become that signpost to the wider project, linking to aural histories and the legacy of the miners, and mining community. Broadbent Studio has felt privileged to be on this journey with Lauren and the miners group in realising their vision for a physical memorial.
For community involvement see the facebook group and website.