Red Mine | Andy Hughes

In 1919, a tragedy occurred at Levant Mine in Cornwall when the Man Engine, a lifting machine, failed and caused the death of 31 men and injury to over 130 others. This incident highlights the dangers associated with mining, as well as the negative impact it can have on the environment and human health. Behind every ton of extracted materials, there is often a story of water contamination, habitat destruction, and land and human poisoning. Mining is also associated with complex social, political, and environmental issues connected to the climate emergency. The demand for minerals such as copper is expected to increase significantly, which will further exacerbate this issue. Who will bear the consequences of the destructive impacts of the new wave of mining activities being planned worldwide?

'Mining landscapes have always felt to me like torn skin. Words like ore body, lode, vein, and seam populate the mining lexicon. The human body and the earth's body are connected. Seeing the blue vein seep from the cliffs into the ocean at Levent reminded me of the deep blue coal splinters under the skin of my coal miner grandfather. - Andy Hughes

Developing from the project Red Creeper, these photographs blend reality with fiction, simultaneously highlighting how mining activity extensively transformed the landscape of Cornwall. The photographs turn the scarred landscape an eerie crimson and mine runoff an iridescent cyan.