'Outstanding' geology of Black Country examined by artist

More than 420 million years of geological history in the West Midlands is being explored by an artist as part of a gallery residency.

Stuart Whipps, who makes photography, films, and installations, is examining the area which stretches across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The site was designated a Unesco global geopark in 2020, recognising it as an area of outstanding geological heritage.

Known for its remarkable fossils, diverse landscapes and mineral wealth, the Black Country played a crucial role in discovery and innovation during the Industrial Revolution, Whipps said.

"Geology may sound a bit impersonal," he added, "but I'm really interested in the personal stories that are bound up in the area.

"In the Midlands, in particular, the stories of working-class people within the history of geology are often overlooked.

"They were the ones mining the land, identifying and collecting fossils.

"But they were often written out of those histories, and often it was the geologists in labs who were credited with these discoveries."

During his residency at The New Art Gallery, in Walsall, Whipps will visit sites across the area including Barr Beacon, Brownhills Mining Heritage Monument, Hay Head Wood and Walsall Arboretum - meeting locals and gathering material to bring back to the studio.

The Birmingham artist said he had been developing "performance lectures" using an analogue slide projector and objects to tell stories about places.

The Black Country was a place of "real international significance," he added, "although people don't often think of it in that way".

He said he hoped his work would encourage people to think of the area "in different ways".

"The idea that there's billions of years of accumulated material under your feet, that means something, changes the way we think about time and place," he said.

The artists' studio event and project entitled The Formation of the Universe runs until 5 July, with public events held on Saturday 16 May and 4 July.

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