Morgaine Davies

The EMI factory in Treorchy was once a centre for industrial employment in the South Wales Valleys, but since its closure the structures have been left abandoned. They are now no match for the strength of the natural world which has pushed through despite the odds to reclaim the site.

The EMI Factory intrigued the urban explorer in me; but it also seemed to hold such fond memories for so many of its past employees that I knew I needed to create a book dedicated to those people, sharing their stories, juxtaposed by images of the site now. Talking to the people who once worked there made me feel a personal connection to the place, and inspired me to combine two elements; the personal stories from past employees, alongside images of the site in its current state. The juxtaposition between past and present, industrial and natural is a key focus of this work.

Instagram: @morgainedaviesphotography

Morgaine Davies

“On a Friday we would try and shift along, help all the slow ones along and then whoever’s turn it was we’d go up the fish shop and we’d have fish and chips then for supper and have a good old natter before we went home.”

Steven Demaid, 59 - Electro Plater

“One chap, he was awful tight, and every dinner time, he’d have a rucksack, and everything was heated by coal then so he’d have his rucksack and fill it up with coal. Everyone knew he was doing it, and then he used to have a pushbike and there was an entrance to come in and one to go out and the gatehouse was in the middle. This boy left at lunch and fell off the bike outside of security and coal went everywhere.”