Galerijen in een mijn te Cornwall c. 1893

This photograph by John Charles Burrow shows two scenes in the tin mines of Cornwall. We see men at work: extracting the ore, and moving it out of the mine. The material reality of the mine dominates these images. The processes are starkly evident: the rock hacked away, the timber shoring up the galleries. These are not traditional artistic materials, but the stuff of everyday labor. The miners, working with hand tools, are silhouetted against the dark stone. Their work is hard, dangerous, and low-paid. This was a period of intense industrial activity and social stratification. Burrow’s photograph doesn’t glamourize the mines. Instead, it offers a document of the immense human effort required to extract resources from the earth. It challenges the distinction between art and documentary, reminding us that all images are made by someone, for some reason. The context of production is crucial to understanding the full meaning of this artwork.