Grand Ruins

Grand Ruins – pop-up exhibition at Kresen Kernow

Join us in July and August for a new pop-up exhibition focusing on the mining legacy of Carn Brea and St Day, by artist Duncan Rice and photographer Graham Warren.

The exhibition is part of ‘Ruins and Monuments’, a project which has been running for over 10 years. The aim of the project is a series of exhibitions in the former mining heartlands of Cornwall and West Devon. Initially the focus was the abandoned remains of the mining buildings and structures, but gradually the scope of the project expanded to include the landscapes transformed by mining.

The focus of this exhibition is the substantial surface remains of mines near Redruth. The ‘Grand Ruins’ are those of Wheal Basset, West Basset and South Wheal Frances on the
Great Flat Lode to the north of Carn Brea. Also, the remains at Poldice Mine, further east near St Day.

Duncan and Graham say

“When we started visiting the abandoned mine landscapes we had little knowledge of what we were looking at. Over time we have come to know much more about the story of mining for tin and copper. But in a sense this is besides the point. The initial emotional response is what provides the impulse for the project – the feeling of discovering and exploring a Cornish Babylon. The exhibitions combine photography, drawings and paintings. The photographic equipment used is not far removed from camera technology current at the height of mining in the mid to late 19th century. The pin-hole photography takes a step further back but seems particularly suited to the stark qualities of the mining ruins. The drawings are made on site and provide the basis for paintings that combine observation with memory. ”

The exhibition is open during our usual opening hours.