CONCLUSION _

This research was motivated by the pursuit of memory, as a medium to connect no longer existent sites and experienced heritage. This involved collecting possible ways of artistically expressing the history of the mine at Winterslag. The intention was to go beyond a traditional research method, and by doing so, to involve the inhabitants. In this sense, phenomenological concepts were used to understand the diversity of issues and the relations between the site and its inhabitants. The existential relationship between a human being and the space that surrounds them [Malard 1992] became apparent when talking to the former miners, and perceiving the mine’s past through their memories. There is an intrinsic connection, even after many years of separation, which shows that once a person has developed activities at a certain place they create roots in it.

The conclusion drawn from the evaluation is that the inquiry provided valuable information and suggested a series of directions for artistic production. Researching the attributes of a no longer existent site required an approach which connected deeply with people’s memory, as a way to find unofficial and fundamental information that connected the former miners to the site. Sounds were explored in a specific, sensitive way, in which the attributes of the mine gained a particular appearance. The decision to focus on the former miners’ narratives as the main source of information was made to emphasize the importance of their oral heritage, in other words, to draw attention to the ability that the inhabitants have to talk about their history. It can be argued that the fieldwork method was efficient because it helped to obtain diversified information enabling a contextualisation of the mine, in the former miners’ own memory logic. The combination of the Virtual Space Readings with the exploration of oral heritage through the former miners’ narratives was not only important, but also essential for a meaningful production of the artwork.

This exposition has not set out to discuss the mine site in a sociological fashion. Rather it offers a chance to touch upon several, important subjects that could be developed in a future context.

The artwork was developed to explore an ‘imaginary’ mine revealed by its former users. The recreation of the sounds based on the interpretation of the former miners’ narratives, when shown back to them, offers an evaluation of  the work’s representative value.

The research also established directions for artistic studies with the intention of attaching the artwork to local values. The method can be applied to different contexts when there is an intention to understand a site with the help of its [former] users. It can be extended to places that are going to disappear or other no longer existent sites in order to preserve the sound memory as a way of contributing to the preservation of local histories. Projects of this kind can generate conditions to show different approaches to local heritage, demonstrating how important it is to keep the oral history alive, through the uniqueness or the accounts of those who lived and acted in a specific place.

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INNERGROUND

_ an exploration of a disused mine through the memories of former miners.

THE PROJECT _

This research was conducted by identifying space and sound attributes in people’s memories, with the aim of improving our knowledge of the theme of disused mines, in the form of an engaged artistic production. The work has an artistic character, while presenting an emphasis on theoretical and conceptual contents, investigating space and its relation to the human perception of it. Whenever one explores a place, our observation can be limited (due to cultural and historical values) and in Limburg’s mining sites this process is particularly hard since most if not all sounds and sensations, related to the work underground have been lost with the closure of these mines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performing various activities, the former miners endowed the mine space with significance, creating a particular relation with it. Out of these actions, came memories that can be decoded and interpreted, generating the desired attributes for an artistic work. The fieldwork methodology consisted of systematic observation of, and listening to, the interaction between former miners and the disused mine site, focusing on their memories of sounds. The intention was to involve the inhabitants (that lived during the relevant period) in the data collecting as much as possible, to gather details about the site in a way that goes beyond what can be found in books or videos. It was considered relevant for the artistic process to collect the kinds of detail that are related to the direct experience of each of the former miners and can be told by them alone.

 

 


Ten talks were conducted with former workers of the mine of Winterslag, in Genk, Belgium, with the objective to find the “lost sounds” in their oral narrative concerning the mine environment. The idea was to use the collected data to (re)create sound-memories representing the underground space of the mine.

The appraisals contained here show the abundance of significant information obtained when integrating the people related to the site into the artwork. The evaluation of the data collection process was used as a way to develop guidance for an artwork concerned with exploring sound, in order to reinforce this ‘look’ at the historical and cultural context of Limburg’s mining area. Five sound compositions were made, and presented as the following artwork, exploring the mine environment through the description of its ex-users offering a free interpretation of their narratives.

SOUND _

Here sound is understood as a component of space and as a medium to explore its potentialities. It is a way to grab new perceptions, to make the experience of space more magical, affording a spatial trip, and connecting the audience to both actual and virtual [mind] spaces. The attempt is to use the effect of sound to create a ‘virtual time’ that differs from what may be called ‘clocktime’ or ‘objective time’ in that it gives form to the succession of moments and turns its own passing – transfigured as durée – into sensory perception. [Ryan 2001, 43]

The motivation for working with sound arose when I became convinced of its ability to reinforce the activity of ‘looking at’ or ‘exploring’ a certain environment. My intention is grounded in the belief that people will start looking at the existing environment more intensively while listening. Linda-Ruth Salter says that nowadays the visual has gained dominance, and notes that we act as if that is all right with us. One interpretation of our willingness to cede spatial design to those with a visual dominance is that we have taken back control of our spatial experiences via control of the sound we hear in those spaces. Perhaps we are saying: Mess around with how a space looks, we don’t mind, because actually we aren’t really here, but rather in our own space created by our ears. [Blesser and Salter 2007] 

Sound can help people to disconnect themselves from looking and allow them to experience deeper perceptions. Starting from the point of linking people and space through memory, listening seemed attractive because, in the case of sound, the memory can be very spatial, leading a person to another time and another spatial sensation. Sound can operate mnemonically to reactivate and trigger emotional sets [Dixon 2007, 545], triggering memories, or any kind of what is here called virtual space. Sound provides an intimate spatial connection for many reasons: “the auditory system is wired deep in our cortex, we have no ‘earlids’ to shut off sound, we respond to sounds even when we sleep, sound provides a sense of the interior of the source [be it emotions or construction], sound flows through cracks and crevasses to connect us with the events in our environment. These are properties of sound and hearing, but a culture [or individual] may or may not value such properties.” [Blesser and Salter 2007] 

In this sense, sound appeared to be the medium most appropriate for interactivity, because sound goes beyond the interface, into time, into the body, and into imagination. [Dixon 2007, 546] 

 

INSTALLATION _

The sound work started after the fieldwork and analysis were completed. The examination of the documentation of the Virtual Space Readings served as basis for this part of the process, in which an inventory was generated with a résumé of the relevant data taken from the talks. Using this data as a guide, field recording sessions were made to gather sound samples. The sound samples were recorded in different spaces, sometimes connected to the mine environment in the old mine site of Berengen, for instance. A stereo microphone was used in an attempt to optimise the sensation of space.

The sound work was conducted by revisiting the attributes inventory and the video-documentation. Decisions about how to compose the mine spaces with sound were taken regarding important elements [repeated several times during the talks] and connected to the idea of movement: vertical [elevator], horizontal [rails/cars/coal], explosive and stationary [drilling/ventilator].

In the development of the sound work, both the environment itself and the way the former miners talked about it were taken into consideration. If they emphasized one feature more than the other, then it would become a parameter for the composition, even if this feature were not important for others. These unique elements, sometimes mentioned by only one person, were normally connected to their background and/or imagination, granting subjectivity to the narrative.

The decision was made to show the sound installation as part of the process and not as an isolated result. White wooden boards were built where the public could read a résumé of the research process and plug in headphones to listen to the five compositions. The video-documentation of the talks was also exhibited since it became a key aspect of the research. The videos were edited to emphasize the conversations regarding sound, but exposing the gestures and manners the former miners used to communicate their sound memory. Sometimes they would describe or make up sounds and, by trying to imitate them, many new sounds came up, provoking excitement and at times disturbance.

The presentation contained no images of the mine or the mine’s site. This was a difficult decision since there are interesting and illustrative images available in books and DVDs. On the other hand, during the whole research process, an effort was made to disconnect the comprehension of the environment from ‘sight’. All the features were taken from the former miners’ narratives and this was emphasized by the presentation choices. There is no doubt that this was a very important decision to deepen the comprehension of a space through sound.

Beside the sound installation, the project was developed as an online database [www.innerground.carolinagoradesky.com] containing the texts, documentation and sounds produced during the research. The intention was to diffuse the research to the former miners and to a larger public.

 

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THE MINES _  

The Province of Limburg is a region in constant modification and during the mining period the area received many immigrants and considerable investment (Reulens and Habex 2008, 23-30). Nowadays the area is still undergoing a constant metamorphosis, preserving only some traces of its mining past.

The area around the mine is meaningful, because the ex-workers still live there, even though there are no more mine works. This makes it an important situation in which to discuss the inhabitants’ memories, a sthe site is related to a past, to which they feel related in many senses. When first talking to former miners about their life underground, the primary subject raised by the researcher was ‘sound’ and how it influenced their daily work. Thus, mapping their site, memory allows for the building of a sound environment closely related to its inhabitants.

Limburg has many mines and a restriction of the area was made to be more specific, and to concentrate the fieldwork. The specific site studied was the old mining site of Winterslag.


GENERAL DESCRIPTION _

Winterslag is located in Genk and follows the same development and structure, characterized above, of all mines in the Province of Limburg. Winterslag was the first mine to enter into production in Limburg (1917) and just before World War I, urbanization began with the constructions of the Cité I (following an English village model). (Habex 2007, 4-6) Winterslag is close to the Kempische Plateau, an area of small hills and valleys, and has three housing groups built during the mining period according to work hierarchy. Cité I, located in the east of Winterslag, followed the existing landscape with ‘sloped landscaping’ for the housing area inspired by English garden cities. It was made for the engineers and senior staff. Cité II (nowadays home to immigrant families) was settled in the west and was built for regular mine workers, constituting of uniform housing. The last housing group, Cité IV, built after World War II, was the cheapest of all to build and approximates social housing in the region. (Habex 2007, 4-6)

At the beginning of the mining period there were mostly Belgian workers, but many from quite far outside Genk. After some time, many agreements between Belgium and other countries were made to provide work force for the mines. It is known that in 1924 there were 6.000 miners working in Winterslag, of which 25% were foreigners. This percentage increased and by 1956, of the 4.500 miners underground 45% were foreign, representing 23 different nationalities. In addition there were 1.500 workers above ground and 225 clerks and senior staff. In 1980, when the mine was in decline, there were just 3.127 workers in total in Winterslag. [Vancoppenolle 2000, 27]

 

_ After World War I: workers came to the mines from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Italy.

_ During World War II: Russian war prisoners worked the mines,

_ In 1946 a bilateral agreement was reached between Belgium and Italy: 2000 Italian workers per week came to Belgium, and Belgium exported, in exchange, 200 kilo of coal per day, per Italian worker with a contract longer than twelve months. The disaster of Marcinelle in 1956, killed 261 miners including 136 Italians and resulted in the end of the contract with Italy.

_ In the 1950s similar agreements were reached with Greece and Spain.

_ Since 1963 similar agreements were also reached with Turkey and Morocco.

(Reulens and Habex 2008). 

 

The motivation to work on this research in Winterslag was provided by the fact that it was the first mine to be operative and one of the last to close. There they developed a particular system to support the mine tunnels and used electric trains earlier and in larger numbers than in other sites. In other words, it was not only an active mine but a very important one for Limburg. It was also known to be one of the best organized mines in Limburg. Nowadays the landscape still bears traces of the mining period, with the Cité houses and two shaft towers maintained, showing the intention to preserve the history.

 

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_ VIRTUAL SPACE READINGS 

Malard’s fieldwork methodology [Malard, 1992] was adopted here because it consists of Space Readings, a systematic observation of the development of activities that occur in certain sites. In this case, it was called Virtual Space Readings, since there are no activities at the mines anymore and it was the mind spaces, here called virtual, which provided the data. The procedure was guided by virtual visits to the actual sites with former miners while they talked, described and interpreted what came to their mind. This produced narratives from the memory of the lived space.

Ten former miners from Winterslag agreed to meet and during the period of four months [December 2011 to March 2012] the talks were conducted and filmed. All of them preferred to meet in their own home, to talk more comfortably. The procedure was the same for all of the ten meetings, starting with an introduction to the research and the main interest in the mine environment.

The Virtual Space Readings also include several procedures commonly adopted in the day-to-day activities of architects, which are coherent with the conceptual framework of the research. For each of the Virtual Space Readings, annotated sketches were made, depictions of general characteristics of the site, pictures of meaningful situations, reports on the activities observed and recordings made of the inhabitants’ comments on the site. During the process, it was decided to avoid photographic or filmed visual representation and visual research of the mines deepening as much as possible the reliance on oral descriptions.

The survey strategy of “not asking questions” proposed by Malard [Malard 1992] is based on the belief that the field research should be adequate for the researcher and for what is being collected, in this case subjective phenomena. “When a question is put forward, the questioner knows perfectly well what his question is intended for, otherwise he would not be able to formulate it. Thus, all questions comprise a response expectation, which leads to the conclusion that all questions end up by influencing the contents of the answer to be given” [Malard, 1992, p. 48]. In this research it was considered important to have as much free will as possible in the production of the data, to make sure it represented the deep memories, feelings and impressions of the former miners.