Sostieni Lee Karen Stow

Supporting my late-Dad and me to tell OFFSHORE ONSHORE, a personal story behind the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea, its impact on life, families and environment, and a glimpse into today’s urgent transition to renewable energy.

I’m a professional photographer. Dad was an amateur. Yet 60 years ago, armed with Polaroid and compact cameras, this working-class electrician/instrument engineer from Hull, captured moments from the early years in the rush to drill the North Sea for 'black gold'.

Allan worked on rigs and platforms off the North Sea coasts of East Yorkshire, Norfolk, Aberdeenshire and the Shetland Isles, and the towering steel islands in the Norwegian North Sea.

Our focus is on offshore workers who toiled long hours, out of sight, in the middle of a hostile sea to help fuel our cars, boil our kettles and keep us warm, and the impact finding oil and gas in the North Sea had on ordinary families like ours.

I capture the impact of fossil fuel extraction on the East Yorkshire Coast of my childhood, the fastest eroding coastline in Europe. Also the unseen work offshore today in the rush to create cleaner energy in an effort to rescue our future.

Your cups of coffees will help towards my goal, a photo exhibition and book.

This is a visual story inspired by my Dad and brought into view by me, his daughter.

My project is self-funded so I am seeking research support. Thank you.