Survival
Kim Colebrook
Aberfan As children settled down to lessons on Friday 21 October 1966, the unimaginable happened. Tip no. 7 collapsed and thousands of tonnes of dense slurry rushed down the hillside, engulfing Pantglas School and surrounding houses in the mining community of Aberfan. 144 lives were taken, 116 of them children. The disaster devastated this close community, leaving deep scars on those who survived.
There were inquests and inquiries, and the community even endured demands to contribute to the removal of the tips that hung over the town. Fifty years has passed and Aberfan will always be associated with that fateful day. Those who died still sit at the heart of the community, and those who survived still feel the impact of their loss each day.
Desperate efforts.
Mass funerals.
Chuck Rapoport arrived in Aberfan just a week after the disaster. His aim was to create a feature for Time magazine, "A Town without Children". He lived in Aberfan for six weeks, gaining the communities trust. His pictures captured a community coming to terms with life after the disaster. He captured the lone child, the distraught widower, the first birth and a cheerful wedding. His pictures proved that however hard, life would go on; this community was going to survive.
Tears for 144 116 children as young as 3 months.
Torn Each individual was ripped from this world at 9.15am on 21 October 1966.
Lost Opportunities Each of the 144 lives lost had a future that would not be realised.
Contained A community finds a way to survive.
Those who died are captured in time, encased, remembered as they were in 1966. Those who survived carry with them the memory of the disaster, the loss and what might have been, which impacts upon every decision, every action, every thought.
Black to Green 31,000 acres turned from Black to Green.
Kim Colebrook Aberfan The Aberfan Disaster was crucial to my childhood. I could have been at that school, caught in one of the classrooms that was destroyed. Through this work I have aimed to explore the impact of this disaster. The people of Aberfan have contained their grief and anger, presenting a controlled front to the world whilst finding ways to live despite their loss being so great.
I have worked in the heritage and tourism sectors across the UK for almost 30 years. Through this time my passion for telling the stories of south Wales and the people that drove the Industrial Revolution across the world has heightened as my knowledge about the area's history and geology has increased. This professional passion has now been combined with my new love, ceramics.
1st BA (Hons) Contemporary Design Crafts - Hereford College of Arts. Exhibitions Student Demonstrator, International Ceramics Festival, 2017. Oriel Cric Gallery, Crickhowell, 2017. "One to Watch" - The Gallery at Bevere, Worcester, 2017. Made by Hand, Cardiff & Hereford Contemporary - Hereford College of Arts, 2016.
Dedicated to the memory of those lost at Aberfan - an event that is crucial to the story of south Wales.
Studying for a degree as a mature student has been an insightful challenge, which I could not have achieved without the practical and emotional support of my husband, son and mother. Thank you. The help of Bryony, Jo and Steve has also been crucial - and thanks Pat for clearing up my mess! Coal donated by Tower Regeneration Limited (Tower). Photographs Š IC Rapaport, Ruth Zuleika Cameron Swan, Ollie Cameron Swan, Western Mail and Kim Colebrook.
01873 850496 or 07852 210106 kim@kimcolebrook.com www.kimcolebrook.com