January 2016 – November 2016 - Titford Pools Canal – Oldbury – The Black Country

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This Bronze and Steel sculpture depicts the toil of pre-mechanised coal mining. The rock driller, positioned at height on one of the face scaling ladders used in thick seam coal mining would have had the dangerous job of drilling the coal face by hand, inserting the black powder and dynamiting the coal face.

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Along the side of the ladders legs is the inscribed text “The Devil made Coal. Made it black like his heart and hid it in the deepest recesses of the earth that he would drive man mad in the finding of it”. As well as interpretation as to the history of the site and the subject.

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“This work has been so incredibly well received by everyone. Luke with his talent and enthusiasm has created something incredibly special that no-one thought could have been done”.

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Martin O’Keeffee – Chair of the Birmingham Canal Navigation Society

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