Heavy labours: Photographer Brian Griffin revisits his Black Country roots

Female Chainmaker, 2010. Famous for chainmaking, the Black Country was once the nation's industrial powerhouse, with its smoke-choked industrial air giving the region its name. Griffin's portrait is taken inside Solid Swivel, one of the few remaining foundries where chains are still made for Royal Navy ships. The woman featured is artist Natalie Gore, who can usually be found making much smaller, ornamental chains in her nearby studio. Photograph: Brian Griffin

Edith Griffin, 2010. A portrait of the artist's mother celebrates the materiality of industrial life. Photograph: Brian Griffin

Boro Foundry, 2010. Griffin's work plays with the drama of industrial life, using characters and settings to hint at histories that lie beneath the surface. His other projects include studies of construction workers on the High Speed Channel Tunnel rail link, and London's St Pancras station. Photograph: Brian Griffin

Speedway Rider, 2010. Photograph: Brian Griffin

Carpenter, 1986. Griffin's images reflect poignantly on Britain's changing industrial landscape, and the relationship between man and machine. Photograph: Brian Griffin

In search of memories: photographer Brian Griffin revisits Stocking Street, Lye, the Black Country town where he grew up.
Photograph: Diensen Pamben/Newsteam.co.uk