Wheatley was part of a group of South Shields artists in the 1930s, connected to the broader working-class art movements of the Ashington Painters and the Spennymoor Settlement. His relationship with Amber developed in the early 1970s when he worked on a photographic album documenting changes on Tyneside. He was also involved in the group’s River Project, contributing his insights to Amber’s evolving engagement with the region’s industrial and social history.

His influence on Amber was significant, shaping the collective’s understanding of working-class artistic expression and its role in documenting lived experience. Laurie is as much a study of sculpture as it is a meditation on art’s connection to place and identity. The film stands as an early example of Amber’s long-term commitment to storytelling rooted in the communities and creative traditions of the North East.