Above, Below, Beyond.

Above Below Beyond is artist Jamie Holman’s response to a 10 month project working young people across East Durham.

Above represents Durham’s social & geographical landscape across East Durham and the story of a future that never was. A town plan designed by Berthold Lubetkin, architect to London’s Art Deco Penguin Pools. The design saw a future city, that was never realised as extensive mining across the area left the ground unstable for deep excavations.

Below tells the story of East Durham’s collieries and it’s deeply rooted history of coal mining. At one time almost every house would have at least one miner living in it, until the 1980s saw government pit closures and strikes affect families across the area leaving behind mass unemployment, broken relations and industries.

This has been memorialised in a 3 storey painting of a Miners Banner on the side of The Volunteer Arms in Seaham

Beyond - is the young people in East Durham, their aspirations and passions. Through music, art and performance their lives have been recorded for future generations looking back, in a series of Trade Union Banners, spoken word and recorded songs. https://abovebelowbeyond.org/ This website leaves behind a creative legacy, allowing people to descend the ‘mineshaft’ and make music with the lost sounds of the miners and the new sounds of electronic music. Our new cultures emerge from the memories of our heritage and all those who were here before us .