
“We always have to be aware of the enemy within, which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty.” These are the words of Margaret Thatcher – words that leave a particularly sour taste when learning they’re in reference to the miners’ strike of 1984-85, used to describe communities coming together in resistance to their decimation, the removal of their primary source of income with nothing to replace it. It is quotes like these that make you realise how important grassroots documentation is, how important photography, as a medium, can be in highlighting the truth; police violence, batch cooking for hungry families and protestors huddled outside in winter, with little more than a jacket.
A new exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol has compiled photography from the year-long industrial action, as well as ephemera that played a role in widening awareness and showing solidarity, like badges, posters and banners. “Together, the works tell a story of the battle against Margaret Thatcher and the National Coal Board’s pit closures, but also display the imaginative ways people came together in defence of their communities and the powerful images of resistance and solidarity that live on today,” says the exhibition’s curator Isaac Blease. After collaborating with various museums, collections and individuals to source materials, the exhibition features work from a vast range of geographies and demographics, including the work of John Harris, Chris Killip, Jenny Matthews, Imogen Young and more.
For Isaac, one of the main strengths of the exhibition is how it demonstrates solidarity across communities. He highlights Brenda Price, who shot images of women in Nottinghamshire picketing, fundraising and organising food packages. Not only do they demonstrate community spirit, but the ways in which such images also countered stereotypical and reductive portrayals of women at the time. “As things get progressively more polarised today, I like to think these images remind of the importance of sticking together,” says Isaac.