Photographer Jack Luke records the way in which bings, once little more than a dumping ground for industry, have been reclaimed by nature and the community.
The bings are an enormous set of spoil-heaps comprised from the tailings of the once globally-important shale oil industry which was centred in West Lothian. Since workings ended in the early 1960s, the bings have gradually been re-appropriated as an unlikely leisure ground, site of nationally-significant biodiversity and a monumental symbol of West Lothian identity.
In The Bings series, I eschew the absolute objectivity often associated with contemporary landscape photography in favour of making lyrical images. By doing so aim to challenge ideas about how we perceive use of post-industrial landscapes in Scotland.
To see more of Jack’s work please visit: www.jackluke.co.uk
There’s also an accompanying book with images of the bings alongside poems by Alistair Findlay.
