Led by Keele University, ‘Decommissioning the Twentieth Century’ is a research project looking at significant landscape change resulting from decommissioning as well as social and cultural values which influence decisions made around energy-production sites as they evolve into heritage sites. 

Dana was commissioned by Keele University and Urban Wilderness to work on the West Burton A power station site, near Gainsborough, which is scheduled for decommission in September 2022. Over four months, she engaged with various communities of interest, including: former West Burton workers; immediate neighbours in the Sturton-le-Steeple and North Leverton villages; the West Burton Residents Planning Group; Years 5 and 6 of the Sturton-le-Steeple C of E Primary School and North Leverton Academy; Gainsborough locals; and x-church audiences, artists, and children who regularly attend the venue’s youth club.

Exploring the aftermath of deindustrialisation in the context of climate emergency, ‘How to Say Goodbye to a Power Station’ paid attention to specific location-based challenges, especially with regards to remediating the landscape, and prompted questions around more-than-human design: what will the area look like in a hundred years? How might our current decisions inform or dictate its future development? How might the landscape and natural environment transform? Participatory workshops around archiving memories and stories about the power station, as well as imagining future scenarios of the landscape, informed a visual publication shared with those involved.

Special thanks to Dr Ian Waites (Senior Lecturer in Art and Design at Lincoln University) for guidance and stories, Marcus Hammond at x-church for encouraging local artists and children to become involved and for hosting the workshops and party, and to Maddy Holroyd, a workshop participant and former West Burton employee who became instrumental in expanding the network and keeping the conversation alive.

A digital version of the poster collection is available here.

Primary Investigator: Dr Ben Anderson Co-investigator: Dr Ian Waites Creative commissioners: Urban Wilderness Photographer: Becky Nunes Venue: x-church, Gainsborough

Photo credits:

Becky Nunes, workshop photos Michael Bowdidge, collage photo, 'Live Collage 317 - How To Say Goodbye To A Power Station', digital collage from a collaged leaflet by Dana Olărescu with additional materials, created as part of Slumgothic Live Collage project rest0fthecake, aerial footage of West Burton power station Urban Wilderness, exhibition photos Dana Olărescu, posters