6th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology: Industrial Ruins

Modern ruins are radically different from those ruins of ancient times that are customarily curated as archaeological heritage. They are irrational, wild and unterminated. In modern ruins, multiple changes occur quickly, making them both fascinating and disconcerting. This edition of the workshop delves into the ancient and modern ruins of industry as particular archaeological sites that allow, and demand, different explorations. The 6^th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology brings together historians and archaeologists from the UK, China and Brazil to examine the ruins of industry as sources of information (archaeological evidence), inspiration and aesthetic experiences.

The East-West series of workshops aims to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. The activity is organised jointly by the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology, and its Young Members Board.

 

 

PLACE:

Zoom (online meeting).

Register for FREE to get the Zoom link to the event HERE

 

 

DATE & TIME:

11 May 2024, Saturday.

10.00-12.00 London time

 

 

SPEAKERS & TALKS:

- Hilary ORANGE (Swansea University, Wales): "Stuff Kicked Underfoot – The Surfaces of Industrial Ruination"

Two hundred years ago, Cornwall – a peripheral, maritime region of the UK – emerged as a world leader in mining engineering and innovation, mostly for tin and copper. Today, a rich archaeological legacy of industrial sites and features remain, including sites of production, industrial settlements and related infrastructure. These deindustrialised landscapes are not static entities. Here, as elsewhere, surfaces have formed through the actions of geological, taphonomic and climatic forces, as well as through gravity and the actions of humans and other species. In this talk, I explore how local people engage bodily with the surfaces of Cornish mining land, mostly but not only through walking interviews with a wide array of actors. The lecture aims to provide a nuanced discussion on postindustrial landscape, one that moves beyond iconic ruined structures to look instead more deeply at surface–body relations from a more-than-representational perspective.

 

- Xianping GAO (University of Science and Technology Beijing, China): "Excavating the Ruins of the Chinese Porcelain Industry: The Luomachiao Kiln Site in Jingdezhen"

Jingdezhen is renowned as the "Porcelain Capital" and is one of the earliest handicraft cities in the world. Jingdezhen represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese porcelain craftsmanship, with the Imperial Kiln Factory established here as the sole royal porcelain factory during the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the great age of maritime trade from the 15th to the 19th century, billions of porcelain items were exported from Jingdezhen to various parts of the world. In 2012, we conducted excavations at the Luomachiao Kiln site, located in the central production area of Jingdezhen's civilian kilns during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (13th to 19th centuries). It was also the site of a state-owned porcelain factory established in the 1950s, the factory buildings of which are still well-preserved. The excavation unearthed a large number of ceramic remnants and artefacts from the 11th to the 20th centuries, providing valuable material to understand the development trajectory, level of craftsmanship and technology, as well as the industrial heritage landscape and value of porcelain handicrafts in Jingdezhen.

 

- Guilherme POZZER (University of Sheffield, England): "Words in Ruins: Sensorial, Affective and Creative Approaches to the Ruins of Industry"

This presentation proposes a reinterpretation of industrial ruins, moving beyond their aesthetic value, often negative social perception, and static role in the urban landscape. By immersing ourselves in these spaces through sensory experiences, we can gain deeper reflection on their history, function, current state, and future, as well as the temporality of human existence. As we experience the decayed state of these ruins, a blend of melancholy, excitement, contemplation, curiosity, and nostalgia intertwines with our imagination, senses, and emotions, and with the silences, noises, and, sometimes, memories of these places. This rich tapestry highlights the potential of industrial ruins to become catalysts for individual and collective transformations. Drawing on the work "Palavras em Ruínas" [Words in Ruins] and the research project "Crafting the Past: Empowering Communities through Creative Writing, Visual Narratives, Memory, and Place-Making", themes of memory and experimentation in ruined industrial spaces will be explored to discuss the integration of sensory, emotional, and creative perspectives into research practices and approaches to the industrial past and history.