Artist Residency Part 1

National Library of Wales

Late on a Friday afternoon of the second week of my residency at Mud and Wool we visited the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. This is housed a spectacular building perched high above the town looking out to Cardigan Bay. Even on a grey wet day the view was impressive.

The exhibition we were visiting was provocatively entitled ‘No Welsh Art’ . The title refers to the prevailing and prejudiced opinion of Llewelyn Wyn Griffith a writer and historian in the 1950’s. In his 1978 book, historian John Igamells defined art as encompassing ‘only the newest and most accomplished skills’ thus ‘folk art has been excluded’. What a loss! And the result was that much of the visual culture of Wales was ignored and unseen.

Then in the 1980s art historian Peter Lord started a collection which valued history and social connection. With restoration and research the story of these paintings showed the rich visual culture of Wales. His collection informs the exhibition and explores the myth that there is no Welsh art.

The exhibition is curated into 14 collections. The ones that fascinated me related to Welsh identities, particularly the History, Myth and Legend section and the How They Saw Us collection. Here are three images from the latter collection.

The English perception of the Welsh was a poverty stricken population. The first is a ‘Poor Taff’ image from a inn sign. During the French wars the unity of Britain was essential, and the English image of Wales took on an idealised female form. The national costume idea in the 19th century reinforced the feminine, compliant and subservient image. It wasn’t a huge step from the feminine to the infant. This First world War image shows a child Wales sheltering behind an adult England.

Cofiwch Dryweryn

On the drive back from the Library we pass this ruined cottage and its famous painted wall.

Cofiwch Dryweryn is Welsh for Remember Tryweryn. We are being asked to remember the flooding of the Treweryn Valley without the consent of the Welsh authorities, and against the wishes of Welsh MPs and local residents. The resulting Llyn Celyn reservoir serves the English city of Liverpool. The wall was first painted in the early 1960’s and has been repeatedly vandalised and repainted. Today it is a landmark in mid Wales and a symbol of Welsh nationalism.

It’s also a very visual reminder that No Welsh Art is indeed a myth.

On the opposite internal wall of the ruined cottage is another painted motto, that and its history is the subject of part 2 of this blog.

More from the blog …

Artist Residency Wales Part 2

Knapweed, Nature’s Resilient Marvel