OCA Student Stories: Beneath The Surface – Paul McGinty

Stage 3 BA (Hons) Painting student Paul McGinty is currently exhibiting at the Adam Smith Heritage Centre in Kirkcaldy. Find out more about the exhibition and when to visit here.

Here, Painting Programme Leader Emma Drye joins him in conversation to find out more about his work and plans.

ED: Fife, where you live, has a long history of mining and your work explores aspects of that history as much as it is exploring formal aspects of abstraction and surface. Could you tell me why you are interested in the mining heritage of Fife?

PMcG: I can still recall the stories my grandfather told of his experiences as Head Fireman in Pits both in Fife and Monktonhall near Edinburgh. I was both shocked and captivated by his tales of occasional fires breaking out in the underground maze of tunnels and routes painstakingly excavated to reach the coal that lay up to 4000 feet below the North Sea on both coasts. 

These recollections were resurrected when I moved to Fife in the late 1980’s where I was exposed to the numerous mining villages and communities that surrounded me. As I learned of pits closing on an alarming frequency  both in Fife and across the country with the consequent devastating impact,  I think I was subconsciously affected at the time, saddened by the witnessing of a dying industry and concerned that the efforts of the men who were once labelled as ‘the backbone of the nation’ would be forgotten. 

Once again, the subject of mining in Fife came to the fore when a recent Photography exhibition, ‘Before and after Coal’ came to Kirkcaldy Galleries. As a volunteer engaging with visitors, I was deeply impacted by the images and could see the miner’s stories in their eyes. At this stage I felt compelled to somehow contribute to preserving this heritage. 

ED: You have done quite a bit of research on older mining processes and I was particularly moved by the fact that women were employed carrying coal up apparently interminable stairs. I was unaware that women were so central to coal production in Scotland. Do you think that your work resonates not just with mining but somehow with the contemporary character of Fife in terms of the slow and painful recovery from the neoliberal destruction of the coal industry and lack of support to rebuild? Is there a legacy in a kind of socio – geological sense? If so, how has that made itself felt in your paintings?

PMcG: Fife’s contemporary character is definitely one that still suffers from the deep and painful aftershocks of the politically-driven, poorly supported industrial unjust transition that lacked the community support and long-term planning that might have cushioned the impact on miners and their families. 

To narrate a specific related event, one of my works, ‘Charge of the Blue Light Brigade (Orgreave 1984)’ relays  the events of 18th June 1984 when a massive injustice was perpetrated by police on UK wide miners on a field beside the Orgreave coking plant near Sheffield. The work particularly resonates with viewers who refuse to forgive and forget, those who experienced and suffered from these political events first hand. This work, as well as relaying the narrative of the day, also seeks to convey the passion, determination and brave spirit of the miners who simply sought to save their jobs and protect their communities.  

Despite efforts at regeneration over the years, Fife unfortunately continues to experience persistent, long-term deprivation and high unemployment. Nevertheless, today the resilience and pride of the remaining mining communities persist with the objective of continuing to recognise, celebrate and preserve mining heritage  by means of heritage centres, sculptures, installations etc. Their stance is that the industry should never be forgotten and that lessons from their experiences must be learned for the sake of future generations.   

In terms of leaving a socio-geological legacy,  yes, very much so.  Miners when underground operated in what one might call a subterranean landscape and their efforts in the aim of extracting the coal effectively reshaped that landscape.   Paintings such as ‘Cutting the Cable’ narrate the scenario whereby a mine is being closed for the last time and the cable from the  ‘cage’ that is used to transport miners to and from the pit bottom is finally severed. The cage, along with often hundreds of millions of pounds worth of equipment is left behind due to the prohibitive cost of recovery. The impact of this decision continues to have significant environmental impact as the rusting equipment ultimately pollutes streams and rivers at the surface. 

Another example of this legacy is considered in ‘Fields of Fife’ which represents an abstracted aerial view of the countryside and coastline scarred by the numerous Pits that once peppered the region. Up to 50 of these Pits were surrounded by purpose built villages such as ‘Coaltown of Wemyss’ that housed communities when the industry was thriving. Today, although many remain populated, they somehow look out of place, their original residents having had to move out to find new work as a result of the devastating closures. 

ED: The power of the mining equipment gouging out the coal seems analogous to the power of the narrative gouging out aspects of community. One thing that I think is really interesting about your work is the fact that it is abstract in its representation. How has that been received in the setting of the Adam Smith Heritage Centre? Have you had any feedback or conversations with visitors? 

PMcG: I would say that these works vary quite a bit in terms of applying degrees of abstraction rather than fully so. This was very much a conscious decision I came to during my early archives research phase which additionally and necessarily involved engagement with ex-miners as they relayed their experiences, a fundamental aspect for my artistic intentions. As my Practice at this stage was moving more towards abstraction generally, I was determined to persist with this chosen style rather than perhaps reverting to a more realism based, potentially safer representation. I realised of course that this might be a challenge, not least in terms of talking to miners about abstract painting. How would they react and would the works resonate with them?  Nevertheless, I wasn’t prepared to compromise my style and persisted.  

As a belt and braces type approach however, I decided to give careful consideration to naming my works to which I would add some supporting narrative alongside each painting during the exhibition. This would prove to be very useful in providing context for the viewer. 

A very successful exhibition Launch attracted local Press coverage and prime time National news TV coverage by the end of the first week. I couldn’t have dreamed of such immediate interest! This in turn has triggered continued ongoing interest through Social media and other platforms.  

In terms of feedback and conversations with visitors, it seems I needn’t have been overly concerned with using abstract representation as my works were being sufficiently informed by my research into all things mining. Instead of offering immediately recognisable representations, I was able to capture viewer’s attention, evoke a sense of the miners experience, of ‘being there’, focusing on how it made the viewer feel rather than aiming for a solely visual impact.  

Use of some formal aspects of abstraction in particular including colour; employing selectively dark palettes to emulate the subterranean setting; and texture to mirror the coalface surfaces both served to particularly resonate with the viewers. Other techniques such as the use of of narrow and long panels to evoke a visceral sense of height and depth of the mine shafts were particularly resonant.  

I was delighted during one particular visit to be approached by representatives from Stirling university History Department for the purposes of initiating a potential project to look at mining related accidents and diseases. Discussions are ongoing. 

ED: That is so wonderful Paul, surpassing your expectations but hitting home exactly as you had hoped – just more so. The Stirling University collaboration sounds enormously exciting and I can’t wait to hear all about it as it emerges. Well done on the exhibition!