As similar base metals lead and gold sit side by side on the periodic table. Surprisingly lead is gold's sister metal in sharing similar atomic weights and it is this reason that led acclaimed scientists, such as Newton, to experiment with alchemy desperately trying to find a magic formula that would turn lead into gold.

Despite the lack of similarity in their economic value and visual appearance, it was one Weardale miners experience of working in the lead mines from a young age that assisted in his discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1896.

Lead miners from the dale were struggling. Many of them decided to leave the dale and head for pastures new. One such man, John Wilkinson, like so many others, left Weardale and headed to the Klondike in 1896. He struck gold in December that year and sold his finds in Seattle the following year. Miners such as Wilkinson returning to Seattle with their substantial finds and news of their success sparked a mass migration of hopeful gold diggers.

In 1897 Canada saw the largest migration of people to the frozen north. Many people from Europe and America travelled thousands of treacherous cold miles to reach the rivers of the Yukon to pan for gold and seek their fortune. 100,000 people left for the Klondike, 40,000 actually reached their intended destination with most of them unequipped for the journey. Only 4,000 actual found gold.

During the residency I will be researching some of the journeys of people that followed the gold, making links between the lead mining industry of Weardale and the gold industry of the Klondike. The research will particularly focus on John Wilkinson who returned to Weardale and invested his fortune. The research will inform new animation and video work.

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