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Terril, 2017
This video explores the post-industrial landscape of Northern France, focusing particularly on the man-made mountains known in French as terrils. Terrils are hills that have been formed from the waste residue from coal plants. They form the only peaks in the flatlands of the region. The terrils are what remain from the old coal mining industry that has died out, yet whose practice has scarred the earth and shaped the landscape.
In 2012 the terrils of Northern France were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with the whole mining basin of Nord-Pas de Calais. This listing has re-ignited a sense of pride in the region, transforming a negative attribute into a positive. The terrils have become sites of leisure for the local residents, who walk, run and cycle up and down the mini-mountains, creating an almost surreal scene of environmental re-appropriation
This video explores the post-industrial landscape of Northern France, focusing particularly on the man-made mountains known in French as terrils. Terrils are hills that have been formed from the waste residue from coal plants. They form the only peaks in the flatlands of the region. The terrils are what remain from the old coal mining industry that has died out, yet whose practice has scarred the earth and shaped the landscape.
In 2012 the terrils of Northern France were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with the whole mining basin of Nord-Pas de Calais. This listing has re-ignited a sense of pride in the region, transforming a negative attribute into a positive. The terrils have become sites of leisure for the local residents, who walk, run and cycle up and down the mini-mountains, creating an almost surreal scene of environmental re-appropriation
