Steve McQueen's Western Deep

Steve McQueen's Western Deep is a film shown complementary to Caribs' Leap. Commissioned in 2002, the two films are shown as a three screen projection. Carib's Leap was filmed in Grenada, recalling an incident that happened in 1651, in which natives chose to jump to their death instead of submitting to the Europeans. Western Deep was filmed near Johannesburg, South Africa in a mine two miles underground. It displays the harsh realities and dangerous working conditions of the mine workers. 


"The strength and stoicism of the miners indicates the capacity of people to survive in extreme environments, and in this way relates albeit paradoxically to the Caribs’ bravery and defiance in choosing self-destruction over capitulation to a conquering power. The two films are structured around descent: the controlled descent of the miners travelling two miles underground in Western Deep is a counterpoint to the free-falling figure in Caribs’ Leap. With this in mind, it is possible to see the people in Caribs’ Leap as Icarus figures or angelic messengers in contrast to the miners in the underground hell of Western Deep."

Steve McQueen's Western Deep