Week 2 we are to feedback on our initial thoughts regarding the brief of “The Matter Of The Black Country” This is the document that I will present to the group when asked.

Mindmap

Initial Brain storm / mind map.

Definition

Definition of “Matter”

To me it is something that makes up a larger thin and  could also mean the “issue”

matter | ˈmatə | noun 

1 [mass noun] physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit; (in physics) that which occupies space and possesses rest mass, especially as distinct from energy: the structure and properties of matter. • [usually with adjective] a particular substance: organic matter | faecal matter. • written or printed material: reading matter. 

2 a subject or situation under consideration: a great deal of work was done on this matter | financial matters. • Law something which is to be tried or proved in court; a case. • (matters) the present state of affairs: we can do nothing to change matters. 

3  (the matter) [with negative or in questions] the reason for distress or a problem: what’s the matter?. 

4 the substance or content of a text as distinct from its style or form. • Printing the body of a printed work, as distinct from titles, headings, etc.. • Logic the particular content of a proposition, as distinct from its form.

(Oxford Dictionary of English, 2024)

So it could be the stuff that makes up the Black Country or the situation of the Black Country, politically, geographically etc.

(Wikipedia, 2024)

No definite rule on who is in or out of the Black Country region. Nowhere online offers a substantial answer to this so it is an ethereal question that has no real answer. There is no marked border, some signs from towns state they’re a part of the Black Country and others argue they’re not. (e.g. Wolverhampton)

Letters

Then an idea on the Back of Tom Hicks BCT presentation that reminded me of a project I made in 2012 for a work Photographic Society comp.

What about capturing the letters that make up “The Black Country” from old dilapidated shops or run down places. Maybe capturing the nature of the area that it all sits within.

A trip to one of the following listed on the BBC Webpage:

“West Bromwich, Oldbury, Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Bilston, Dudley, Tipton, Wednesfield and parts of Halesowen, Wednesbury and Walsall but not Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and Smethwick” (BBC Website, 2024)

Buildings

The other idea might be the buildings that make up the black country, I’m a big fan of industry and concrete municipal style buildings. Industry and the governance of the cities and towns are what make the area the way it is.

 Previous studies of buildings I’ve carried out could be the University Of Leeds campus, Shrewsbury’s Shirehall and Raven Meadows car park, Barbican Centre, Alexandra Estate, Trellick Tower etc in London, as well as some tower blocks and neighbourhoods in Heath Town, and Wolverhampton city.

Streets

Another option is to visit the towns and cities of the Black Country to partake in some Street Photography. I feel that this is often the best way to get a feel for the place and to understand the people a little more. Wandering around with the camera capturing the characters and the character of a place. Seeing people going about their daily business with rich and poor, old and young mixing you get to see the ingredients that go to make up the location you’re standing in.

Hearing the local slang, dialect, and even the amount of non-English languages being spoken often helps me gauge how diverse a place is and it is fascinating to me that all of these people all live together with some barriers. Altogether though they are helping the Black Country to continue into the next century. It might not be the industrial powerhouse it once was, but art and creativity is alive and kicking alongside tourism and a growing brewery industry.