All That Is Solid Melts Into Air by Jeremy Deller

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air by Jeremy Deller

The Jeremy Deller exhibition was a show, showing the impact of the Industrial Revolution.  It showed a vast range of contemporary pieces, music, film, photography and objects, which have shaped and influenced Britain through the industrial Revolution.  It also shows the relationship between technology to the regimentation of time, the change in towns and cities, traditions, class and wealth and poverty, which moulded Britain to its modern state.  One of the interesting things I liked about the show was that there seemed to be a sequence throughout, as if it was on a timeline from the beginning to the end showing how Britain has evolved.  This helped really underpin the Industrial Revolution.

An image I liked was Dennis Hutchinson’s image of Adrian Street and his Father depicts a great juxtaposition between the both of them, with Adrian dressed in flamboyant glamorous drag compared to his father whose in traditional dark clothing for working in the mines.  The stance and expression of his father is key because whilst his facial expression is reluctant his body language is pointing to his left, up at his son.  This suggests that Adrian is the hierarchy and the future whilst his father and the miners are the ones being left behind in the times and not taking that leap of faith.  This compares to another example in the show of the “miner with Candle, Climbing Ladder” which also has that leap of faith element, a hope of a brighter future, which is depicted by the glowing of the candle.  The darkness represents the harshness of the mines, where there was a high mortality rate.  Both the Ben Hutchinson image and the miner painting both seem to have a romantic aspect, with the ascending of the miner up the ladder in comparison to the story of Adrian Street which is like a fairy tale story in itself.

Adrian Street with his father at the pinhead of Brynmawr colliery, Wales, Dennis Hutchinson (1973)

Miner With Candle, Climbing Ladder (1805)

Reference:

Deller, J. 'All That Is Solid Melts Into Air'. (2014). Hayward Publishing.