Photographed between 1998 and 2002, The Coal Coast explores the post-industrial landscape of County Durham’s coastline, shaped by generations of coal mining and the environmental legacy it left behind. Part of Side Gallery’s Coalfield Stories programme, the project marked Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s first major exhibition of colour photographs. The decision to work in colour was driven by the startling palette of the beaches, where mineral and chemical pollution produced unexpected, sometimes luminous, effects.

Konttinen was drawn to the coastline while photographing ex-miners at Easington Colliery allotments, who encouraged her to visit the nearby shore. The resulting work reflects on the complex relationship between natural beauty and industrial damage, capturing a terrain that is both scarred and strangely sublime. First exhibited at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in 2003, The Coal Coast was later published as a book and remains one of the defining photographic explorations of this unique stretch of shoreline.

In 2015 Amber began developing a photo film based on the series. Song for Billy, created the following year in collaboration with the New York percussion group So Percussion, drew on the imagery and stories of the Coal Coast to expand the work into sound and movement, extending its reach across visual and auditory forms.