Do not take Women for granted. Let us celebrate International Women’s Day. Women can be strong; they can be bold. The time is now.

Take a moment out of your busy day and visit the Cynon Valley Museum Aberdare as it presents the work of Alix Edwards (Alix Edwards visual artist & writer artography) and her KICKASS “Myth of Women” Exhibition.

Take heed, these are visually strong paintings of women, shown stunningly in vibrant colours resilient in their quests. Women who have battled the extremes of Humankind, illuminated shining and intense through the atmospheric power of this talented artist and storyteller of myths and truths

The vitality of pure brushstrokes hold the attention crying out for the legendary stories to be told. It is the black and white stretched so neatly into the full spectrum of colours. A kaleidoscope entwining mystery and magic

The names may be familiar with many attributed to the bardic Tales of Taliesen, others by their Martyrdom.

Ceridwen, Gwladys, Gwen, Nest, Winifred, Ffraid, Gwraig Anwn, Rhiannon and Gwenllian. Think of the strength and resilience of Gwenllian who fought when pregnant, her abdomen shown in the painting comparable to a shield protecting the future generation. The beheaded Winifred and the Rhondda Valleys’ own “Our Lady of Penrhys”.

There is the poignant reflection of the Magdalen Laundries in the accompanying paintings entitled “Babies”. You can sense the urgency of the lost children to be found, feel the cutting words and wounds that come with the sorrow of memories. The stains of injustice.

The fire is lit encompassing all these women as the forerunners of the suffragettes, the women who took on the jobs of men during the two world wars, the Greenham common protest, helping to launch the first space journey to the Moon, the first computer, the foundation of the Wireless connection Wi-Fi and the GPS system, the structure of DNA. A baton has been handed over for other women to blaze a new trail

The Myth of Women Exhibition calls out Women be strong, define yourself, be brave, speak out against ignorance, be beautiful, remind yourself you are unique, the power and the pride BE YOU

Do not take women for granted, do not forget that it was Adam who was left with the apple lodged in his throat.

This Exhibition is presented at the Cynon Valley Museum until Saturday 30 March.

Events ongoing at the Cynon Valley Museum please see their Website/Facebook for details.

In Aberdare and the Rhondda Fach Avant Cymru theatre company will present The Silent Volunteer by Sue Bevan at St Elvan’s Church on Thursday, 11 April and at Tylorstown Welfare Hall and Institute on Friday, 12 April. Performances at both venues are at 2 pm and 7 pm. Please see Avant Cymru website for more information and tickets In YOUR area within a short distance or a bus ride.

(3 / 5)

It’s staggering the amount of hate Yoko Ono gets. Wrongfully blamed for breaking up The Beatles, after getting with John Lennon, she and her art has been mocked, judged and dismissed. In the biggest UK show to date, The Tate sets the record straight.

As we arrive before entering the space, we can leave notes on wish trees, one of many Japanese inspired ideas in her art. A video of her eye permeating the threshold to entry, we hear her on the phone and read tiny messages from personally. There is a vivid video of a match being struck, her work on fire may hark back to her escape from fire bombs of the Tokyo of her childhood. An escape to the countryside and the sky bring an influence is also essential.

We as the audience can take part in her work: doss around in a black bag, hammer a nail to a block of wood, walk over the canvas itself. The taking part is fun, though I think the chance for more than one person at a time would be encouraged. Her time in Japan, London and New York sees her ideas form and thrive, there is plenty of poetry and jokes. Collabs with John Cage and his partner David Tudor are also excellent. Getting a chance to hear this was a highlight. The video of bottoms is also telling and nicely filmed.

You can sit and watch the infamous Sit in Bed Piece with Lennon, creating your own art as you do. Listen to her music back catalogue, take a piece of jigsaw from a helmet for peace. Yoko asks us to create the art in our own minds, as we are given many prompts to do so. The idea of peace has been so important to her for years and now her messages are more important than ever. We got to draw in a room with a refuge boat. I showed off my Giotto circle. Children felt like they could muck in, which was lovely. A girl amused me saying she was scared when I was engulfed by the bag. It’s almost a burqa, the imagery is very similar.

I’m down to come back and muck about more, though I doubt the naysayers will be moved.

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind runs at the Tate Modern till 1st September 2024

Photo credit: Royal Academy of Arts, London/David Parry

(5 / 5)
Marina Abramović has now been in London for some months. This performance artist who brought the form to the mainstream, has been collaborating with some of the city’s big institutions: English National Opera, Southbank Centre and more. Her fascinating exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art has gotten loads of attendees. It was her birthday a not long ago and even one of her photos at Phillips Auctions sold for over £58,000. There is much going on…

From 2002 comes The House with the Ocean View a durational piece where Marina lived in the gallery for 12 full days. Only allowed water, no food or talking or writing, people flocked to her as if for guidance. Let’s not forget this was in the aftermath of 9/11. After loving the show in London there were three chances to catch this piece, with three separate artists, all of which taught under the Abramović method. Firstly, it was Elke Luyten and now it was the time of Kira O’Reilly..

I wanted to spend as much time in the space as possible. I arrived around 10:30ish briskly past the masses in the exhibition to make my way to the end of the gallery. The space for The House, had one man who appeared to be meditating, I sat near him upon the wooden benches, with huge crystals both sides. Security kept up their demand of no photos. Kira, who appeared to be sleeping on her wooden bed, with a crystal slab as a pillow, similar to what he could try earlier in the exhibit. It was a quiet air within the space. For one unforgettable moment, Kira turned her head very slowly and gazed upon myself and the other gentlemen. This was the start of her last day in the gallery.

Gradually she rose, filled up a glass of water from her personal tap to the brim and carefully walked around the space so there would be no spillage. This almost Zen feel to the room was incredibly calming, just what I needed. Kira would often gently scan the room and share moments with the visitors. Through it all, it was her smile I’ll remember most fondly. It was a lovely sharing moment. She played with her hair, the wooden comb one of a few generous offerings. She moved about, altering the tempo of a metronome, one of the lone sounds in the space. My worry was its clacks would haunt me, yet this marker of time felt right and sombre in the space. Humour and horror would also be present thanks to the amazing ladders going up to the house which featured knives as its steps.

During I was in need of lunch, after going around the full show trying out all the hands-on crystal formations. Prior to leaving I saw Kira had placed her table and chair in at an angle in the space, as if hung from the air. We see all this, even in her platform rooms above us. Curiously the one thing absent from Mariana’s instructions for the piece is the telescope which featured in the original duration. I feel it would have added little and was perhaps cut with good intentions.

After being at the Southbank Centre I vowed I would make it just to see the end of Kira’s final half hour in the space. Wading through Xmas shoppers, I made it thanks to the gracious staff at the RA. I was let in, the room now stuffed with people. I sat and within minutes, who would turn up but Marina herself. I was metres away. She got up toward Kira still in her performance state standing and smiling. Marina, overcome, began to cry and then let it all out. It was incredibly touching. I wanted to comfort her. The idea of someone else trying this demanding piece would touch Marina and others. The security said they were closing, and we all gave Kira huge applause for such a feat. It was great to see her again at the end, she looked at me as if to say, ‘You’re back!’

An incredibly invasive film crew disrupted the good vibes, mucking about between artist and Marina. I found it didn’t matter.

Amanda Coogan performs The House with the Ocean at the Royal Academy of Art from 6 to the 17 December 2023.

The full Marina Abramović exhibition continues at the Royal Academy of Art till 1 Jan 2024. 

(4 / 5)

As I gaze upon The Lute Player by Frans Hals (1582-1666), I smirk at at the likeness between myself and the model, who remains a mystery to this day. A friend a few years back showed me the resemblance during our performance of a Shakespeare play. It seemed to me with the longer hair and the costume triggered this semblance of connection. It was fun to pose and try to capture the facial features of someone long dead. I do plan to go back and make myself look even more like the cheeky fella.

Photo credit: James Ellis

Getting that out of the way, this Frans Hals exhibit was simply wonderful. Often overshadowed by the eternal Rembrandt, a fellow Dutch master, time and time avian this show proves the brilliance of Hals. Lovers of more unconventional paintings of the period will stew over this highly emotive and relatable portraits. Staggering for a young man to simply strike a pose that only a bachelor could make of the time. The Portrait of Catharina Hooft and her Nurse is a swell example. Catharina the child, dressed in the most luxurious dress of the era and the nurse who still gets a loving depiction here. It’s one of many masterpieces you’ll see in this gallery.

The aforementioned Lute Player might just be his best, the facial expression and light are heaven sent. The similar Merry Lute Player, the figure gets a highly detailed face that I found myself drawn into. His larger commissions would wow and put light upon the black servants and wriggling children, whom Hals again gives much respect. It’s the elder looking Dutchman in their famous black hoods and massive hats that appear ludicrous in nature. Either looking defeated or fed up, I found it hard not to laugh in this sea of black fabric, white faces and a lone, shocking red-orange stocking of one gentleman.

The Portrait of Jasper Schade that is devilishly detailed and impeccably crafted, later work would show Hals commitment to more wild brush work, near impressionistic in style, through still of its time. Jasper’s proud stance and affirmed glance is the cock-sure male we never lost in society, though its hard not to marvel at his drip (clothes for the older readers out there). A tiny room with miniatures are another joy, children and smaller ideas haunt the space.  A Young Man Holding a Skull is another famous flutter, though the blurb next to the painting says it is not likely to be a depiction of Hamlet, looking at the timeline, I dare say it might be.

A disappointment came when the gift shop was not selling postcards of Hals’ iconic work as singles, but in multi pack. What surprised me the most was the smallness of the exhibition. I did expect it to be a few rooms bigger, though this should not sway anyone to see this genius of the candid, polished portrait.

It runs at the National Gallery till 21st Jan 2024.