Filming at Chatterley Whitfield

July 30, 2024 | ChatWhit Admin

Heartlands: Earth & Bones

In Autumn 2023 Clare & Paul visited Québec (Canada) with Ceri Morgan (Keele University) as part of a research project and creative collaboration, resulting in this film.Heartlands: Earth & Bones.... what grows in the dug up, broken parts of our cities and our selves?Inspired by the post-industrial landscapes of l'Estrie/the Eastern Townships in south-eastern Québec and her hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, Clare Reynolds (Restoke) created this solo in collaboration with dancer Patsy Browne-HopeHeartlands: Earth & Bones explores the excavation of the land beneath our feet, how this might relate to women's bodies, and whether we can feel the weight of industry in our bones.Committed to film by filmmakers Darren and Suzanne James-Teale (Junction15) the solo is staged within the overgrown remains of Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, Stoke-on-Trent, it features original composition and sound design by Paul Rogerson (Restoke) and a poem ‘Wrinkled Skin’ by Ceri Morgan.As descendants of families and communities whose lives centred round the mining industry, the Heartlands: Earth & Bones creative team made this work with a profound sense of privilege - to have been offered a bedrock on which to create art that reflects on the challenges and sacrifices of two deindustrial/post industrial landscapes.The film, solo, poem, and music are contributions to the research project, ‘Heartlands/Pays du cœur: Geohumanities and Québec’s “regional” fiction' led by Ceri Morgan (Keele University). The project was supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Leadership Fellowship, grant number [AH/T006250/1]A French-language version of the film is also available.

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