Tag Archives: Amelia Seren Roberts

Review Clear-Cut 6 M.A.D.E. – by Amelia Seren Roberts

August 16, 2016 Amelia Seren Leave a comment

Origami Reinkarnasjon performed by Simon Gore and Jack Rees

Traditional Sephardic lullabies, liberated CCTV Footage and choreography merging Jane Eyre with the tunes of PJ Harvey are among the diverse acts at Clear-Cut 6 programme of experimental performance arts.

The audience clamours for position in the gallery space at M.A.D.E; spectators gather at the back and the edges of the room, whilst others nestle amongst the many cushions and pallet boxes laid out for our comfort. The atmosphere is one of anticipation, but also of fun and togetherness. After reading through the programme at the beginning of the evening, I find myself curious about each of the seven experimental acts in turn. Clear-Cut is an event unlike anything I have attended before, and the diversity of the audience and acts alike is immediately apparent. The evening is a showcase of video works, dance, spoken word, performance, visual arts, new music and more. To experience this diversity of performance in a single event is impressive. It’s something of a one-stop culture stop.

“Where genres collaborate and collide”, Clear-Cut 6.

Will Salter, host of the evening and Dada performer

Will Salter is our animated host; himself performing Dada poetry at intervals throughout the evening to great effect. His verbal explosions punctuate the spaces between acts, and mischievously disrupt the audience should they grow too comfortable. Dada retains a long history with experimental performance related to (or in denial of) the fine arts, which makes the presence of the genre particularly appropriate on this occasion.

Our agenda for the evening is jam-packed, prompting fears that we might not achieve all seven acts. In actuality, the evening is well-structured whilst maintaining a casual and friendly atmosphere.

Marega Palser merges literature, illustration and popular music in, ‘Jane Eyre, The DarkSide...’ Initially inspired by Paula Rego’s illustrations of the novel by Charlotte Bronte, Palser’s performance really is a highlight of the evening. The artist said of the inspiration for the work, “each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting…” Palser describes the piece as, “a thought in progress…” and the work curiously encompasses elements of the unknown. The piece reveals something of an internal conflict, which ultimately dictates movement, yet there is undeniably confidence in the madness.

‘Jane Eyre, The DarkSide…’ performed by Marega Palser

‘IdentiTTy’ by Arnaldo James and collaborators is a film which asks more questions than are answered. “Does ethnicity or origin come through when skin tone is homogenised? Is morphology reflected by environment? Can identity be conveyed through dance and abstract non-verbal storytelling?“ The potentially fluid and reactionary nature of cultural identity is explored in this choreographed video work. Referencing Japanese Butoh and Creole traditions alongside more indigenous Trinidadian movement the piece claims to examine, “the similarities that occur in different cultures through movement and music”. The piece is visually stunning.

Nicholas Morgan & Margot Przymierska perform as the collective, ‘Parallel Lines’. In, ‘That’s the family you have’ Nicholas and Margot divulge separate yet intertwining stories, “improvising around box-set narratives and the immediate, subjective experiences of our own lives, collapsing characters, time & space, fiction & reality”. Their simultaneous telling of the circumstances surrounding the funeral of a relative, alongside an audio description of moments from the popular series ‘Game of Thrones’ captivated the Clear-Cut 6 audience and was at once sensitive and hilarious.

‘That’s the family you have’ performed by ‘Parallel Lines’, Nicholas Morgan & Margot Przymierska

Meanwhile, above the performance space, the gallery plays host to a film and sculpture installation by contemporary artist, Merran Singh Dubb. ‘Temple of Consciousness’ explores the relationship between the declining condition of the natural environment and the similarly marred spiritual condition of humankind. “It is evident that we are destroying the planet but ultimately, we are destroying ourselves”. The installation thoughtfully presents imagery representing spirituality alongside the elemental extremes of natural disaster and climate change.

To close the event, ‘Trio Ladino‘, consisting of Angie Kirby, Bethan Frieze and Eloise Gynn are a trio of musicians and vocalists performing adaptations of Arabic and Sephardic traditional lullabies. The trio describe their sound as, “ancient melodies fused with more contemporary musical perspectives, anchored by lullaby-like themes and romantic narratives”. The performance is a calming and captivating conclusion to the Clear-Cut programme.

On reflection, improvisation and experimentation were certainly the order of the evening with every act proving both valuable and unique. The atmosphere was at the same time informal, friendly, supportive and progressive. Clear-cut is unlike anything I have seen and I will be attending from here on!

‘Trio Ladino’ performers Angie Kirby, Bethan Frieze and Eloise Gynn

For a taste of Clear-Cut, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQJ4MaIVtU

https://www.facebook.com/CardiffMADE/

Image credits to Glyn Owens and Sarah Vaughan-Jones.
Special thanks to M.A.D.E Gallery, Sarah Vaughan-Jones and all contributors and performers for the organisation of this event.

Art

M.A.D.E. Pick of the Degree Shows – Review

July 26, 2016 Amelia Seren Leave a comment

M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows: Does what it says on the tin…

(M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows is a group exhibition of fourteen graduate works from South Wales Universities. As the title suggests, the work that makes up the exhibition was sourced directly from the degree shows of Cardiff School of Art & Design and The University of South Wales, so represents the most current student practice to come out of the capital.

The show brought together a collection of promising artists graduating from Welsh Universities this year whose works best demonstrate an affiliation with M.A.D.E’s endeavour to communicate the significance of, ‘self-expression as a crucial human endeavor’. Curators of the show and co-directors at M.A.D.E Zoë Gingell and Josh Leeson selected works that they felt were most ‘strong’, and feel the exhibition ‘stands up to the best of work coming out of Cardiff and its environs’; A tall order, although I would agree that the quality and diversity of the works in the space certainly warrant their inclusion in the gallery’s selection. There’s something to be said about balancing the aim to exhibit as many deserving students’ works as is possible in the space whilst maintaining the critical and physical distance necessary to surround each artwork. In this respect, it is necessary to consider the commitment to make quality artwork visible to audiences who might not have had the opportunity to visit each of the respective Degree Shows.

M.A.D.E doesn’t pretend. The space is not the expansive white cube sort we might experience at venues like Chapter’s gallery space; it has a character that calls for tricky display decisions and can account for a more intimate and relatable experience of the work. A proportionately large amount of artworks shown in the limited space of the gallery was surprisingly not to the detriment of the exhibition. Through careful placement of artworks and recognition on the part of the viewer of a few central curatorial motifs, the show remains legible and engaging and the artworks are given conceptual space enough to breathe.

(Julia Hopkins @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
The artists chosen for the show have all produced works deserving of recognition and I’m pleased to see two of my own ‘picks’ from the CSAD Degree Show, Julia Hopkins and Sam Wall, were part of the M.A.D.E selection. Julia’s miniature compositions implied interconnected movement, balance and reactivity. The structures were made ‘and frequently unmade’ in efforts to find some elusive meaning. Meanwhile, Sam Wall’s drawn works expanded and crawled over the page, a two-dimensional continuation of monster-making which begs, borrows and steals from the fantastic sculptural work presented as part of the artist’s Degree Show exhibition.
(Follow this link to my previous review of the Cardiff School of Art & Design Fine Art Degree Show: getthechance.wales/2016/05/27/review-csad-fine-art-degree-show-2016-amelia-seren/)
Novel approaches to storytelling were evident in several of the works. Rachel Lucas presented written descriptions in place of photographic equivalents. The accounts documented the lives of refugees and explored the desensitisation of society to a genre of harrowing images. Mikky Saunby’s ceramic works implied primitive narratives, while George Curzon casted Imogen, the artist’s sister, as the protagonist of Shakespeare’s tale, Cymbeline in a photo series exploring the trials of adolescence. Florence Fung integrated Chinese ceramic techniques into works more outwardly aligned with contemporary Western aesthetics. In Journey the artist referenced the traditional Willow Pattern, and through the craftsmanship of each piece illustrated the ‘inseparable relationship between the present and the past’.

(Mikky Saunby @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Another recognisable thread, which linked works in M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows, was an emphasis on personal expression through creativity. James Moore’s diptych video works, Headspace both demonstrated and validated the emotional extremes of anxiety and fear, whilst Melissa Hooper’s series of images, Unsettled explored her relationship to the outside as a sufferer of Agoraphobia. Macarena Costan also used photography as a medium, this time to question the disconnection experienced between our memories and the reality of past experiences after following a visit to her family home in Spain. Aaron Davies’ interest in issues surrounding gender identity was manifest in his ceramic compositional forms. Each piece suggested typically male or female characteristics and potentially endless combinations thereof, eliminating any inclination towards gendered binaries. Mylo Elliot’s painted works employed graffiti writing as a medium to explore language and communication of the self. Symbols and visual motifs made up a personalised hieroglyphic language subject to interpretation. The inclusion of personal experience in all of these works provided a useful entry to the artworks for empathetic viewers, and the reimagining of familiar narratives made for engaging artworks.

(Florence Fung @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Consideration into the limits of specific mediums is evident in the remaining works. A reincarnation of Eloise Barratt’s light installation in the M.A.D.E gallery space made for an ambitious display. Viewers were encouraged to entertain their perception of colour as a legitimate medium by drawing attention to the illusionistic nature of colour and light. Whilst Sarah Barnes’ works explored the limitations of the Camera Obscura technique, set within the context of the custodial teen bedroom. Conor Elliot’s photographic prints undermined the visual language of art history by questioning over-familiar and preconceived ideas of what an artwork should look like. His witty photographs critique the ‘staleness’ of referential and ‘typical’ fine art using its own symbolic medium.

(Macarena Costan @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Through their programme of events and workshops it is obvious that M.A.D.E possesses an ethos to nurture and support the creative and local communities. Their more recent endeavor to celebrate emerging artists is a welcome venture amongst the student community, and hopefully the general public as well! This opportunity for graduate artists to have exhibited their practice as part of an established platform affords valuable exhibition experience to all of the shows participants. Exhibitions such as this can increase the visibility of very early-career artists, encourage careers in the arts, and forge new relationships between artists graduating from creative university-level courses in South Wales.
The opportunity granted to exhibit these artworks was invaluable, nonetheless it was evident that the works chosen warranted their display, and I look forward to seeing all of the artists involved exhibiting in Cardiff and further afield in the future; A worthy show.

Florence Fung / Rachel Lucas / Julia Hopkins / Aaron Davies / Mikky Saunby / Conor Elliott / James Moore / Mylo Elliot / Eloise Barratt / Sam Wall / George Curzon / Melissa Hooper / Sarah Barnes / Macarena Costan

M.A.D.E is a hub for the arts and contemporary crafts and regularly exhibits a diverse range of artworks as well as performance showcases and pop-up events. Situated on Lochaber Street in Roath, the venue also hosts a small café which offers local and ethical produce.

(All photographs taken by the author on the occasion of the exhibition in question, for official images of works, please visit the artists’ respective websites).

Art, Film & TV, Literature, Museums & heritage

Creative Cardiff Pop-Up Hub: Reflections on Hub Environments for the Arts

July 1, 2016 Amelia Seren Leave a comment

All images taken from social media linked to the project

In the same week that it was announced that Britain was leaving the EU, free-thinkers in Cardiff were exploring new and innovative ways for arts professionals to work together as part of the Creative Cardiff pop-up hub.

From the 20^th-24^th June selected creatives occupied a temporary pop-up workspace in the Wales Millennium Centre as part of an initiative organised by Creative Cardiff. Sara Pepper, director of Creative Economies at Cardiff University, was a key organiser of the event having researched existing approaches to creative hubs both within, and outside of Wales. Pepper champions ‘hub’ models as potential centres for innovation within the Cardiff creative economy. Sara Pepper has authored a blog post in which she outlines her research which you can access via the link below:

http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/creative-economy/2016/06/16/a-creative-hub-for-cardiff/

Creative Cardiff is an online network of practicing creatives in the Cardiff area initiated by a team at Cardiff University. The network went live in October 2015 and already currently has a membership of over 550 practitioners.

This form of online network has already proven useful to both my peers and myself, practicing within universities as well as on a freelance basis. Organisations such as EMVAN (The East Midlands Visual Arts Network) provide valuable access to creative opportunities and share relevant events information, thus implementing a meeting of like-minded practicing creatives and audiences alike.

What Creative Cardiff achieved in this recent venture is to demonstrate that the hub environment prompted an acceleration of the outputs of its occupants whilst retaining its supportive values. There are early indications that hubs may prove to be beneficial to the development of creative networks and productivity within the city. That these values could be propagated successfully within the physical space of a hub supports the demand for more dedicated collision spaces for creatives, which could support existing online networks.

“Our network aims to bring together people from across the full breadth of the city’s creative economy – from dancers and marketing professionals to architects and app developers. By collaborating and sharing ideas we want to encourage more innovation and creativity in our city” – Creative Cardiff.

Reflecting on my own experience of working in the hub, I found the pop-up nature of the arrangement provoked thought and reflection on the nature of the co-operative working arrangement rather than focusing on the development of individual creatives. This differs from the way in which arts students or employees within other creative industries are usually encouraged to practice, and on the surface seems to contradict productivity. Although the arrangement of the short-term hub might have been initially disruptive, established examples have indicated that co-operative working increases productivity – hence Google’s eagerness to provide exciting, open workspaces for their employees to work collaboratively.

I found the group was particularly concerned with how professionals from various creative fields might gather to achieve the aforementioned aims of Creative Cardiff, whilst still continuing to realise autonomous objectives within their own creative practices. Countless discussions were had on the topic, and throughout the week questions were raised regarding the benefits, physical design, core values, social and creative impact of working in this way to name but a few. Issues such as these are often interrogated on occasions where creative practice mingles with academic insight.

A particularly successful feature of the pop-up hub was the daily ‘Provocation Sessions’ provided in the mornings within the hub space. During these sessions, the hub members were invited to hear professional reflections on the nature of creative spaces and productivity and discussion on these topics was encouraged. We heard from a range of speakers including Prof. Wayne Forster of the Welsh School of Architecture, Clare Reddington and Jo Landsdowne of WATERSHED (Bristol) and Prof. Jonathan Dovey, UWE Professor of Screen Media and director of REACT. Such sessions provided an opportunity for focused learning and interaction amongst the hub members that I believed complimented more casual encounters experienced in the joint space.

I found Prof. Jonathan Dovey’s insights regarding the hub as a creative eco-system especially informative and motivational. His experience has demonstrated that hubs can provide instances of exchange, impacts and continued mutual support amongst their occupants. Dovey placed particular emphasis on the benefits of shared values within creative hubs, such as generosity, openness, trust and excitement.

It is the presence of these shared values, possessed by the members of the pop-up, which contributed towards the success of the Creative Cardiff hub, and defined the unique and progressive environment that I experienced as a member.

With the project only spanning over a short week, the conditions of the hub could not be established in the way in which an organically cultivated hub space might. However, many would agree that the potential for development and continuation of the project was evident. Through research carried out by Cardiff University, we can be positive the project has contributed to the development of creative hubs in Cardiff in the future. As well as this, I hope there is recognised potential for such hubs to become part of an interconnected network of creatives spanning Wales, the UK, and even Europe and globally.

Perhaps the potential of a hub network is way in which creatives can demonstrate that, despite established individualist tendencies, we are in fact better together.

To view Amelia’s Creative Cardiff profile, please follow the link below:

http://www.creativecardiff.org.uk/users/amelia-seren-roberts

Twitter: @amelia_seren

Art

Review CSAD Fine Art Degree Show 2016 by Amelia Seren

May 27, 2016 Amelia Seren Leave a comment

Universities all over the UK are currently opening their doors to the public to celebrate the occasion where soon-to-be Fine Art Graduates show the culmination of their three years of study.

Having been previously caught-up arranging my own final exhibition at Loughborough University, I am more than pleased to be offered the chance to explore the Undergraduate Degree Show at Cardiff School of Art & Design 2016.

On entry to the building, I am reminded of one of the reasons I elected to study at CSAD in the first place. Ascending the stairs into the appropriately-named Heart-Space, the invited guests attending Industry Night are treated to a drink at the bar whilst they anticipate the exhibition spaces above. The space is at once open and inviting.

On the third floor, what were formerly studios are now transformed into polished exhibition space. At this stage I’d typically offer an introduction to my first impressions of the general aesthetic, or approach-to-making of the Cardiff show, but there isn’t one. As Olwen Moseley, Dean of the School of the Arts, states in her address, Cardiff’s Arts Undergraduates are really given the choice to apply whatever creative medium that takes their fancy; meaning the university encourages students to adopt a cross-disciplinary approach to the nature of their learning and practice.

Subjects including The Overlooked are addressed by artists Sophie Burrows and Megan Fergusson; Scale is explored, from examples of miniature maquettes to the monumental nature of Ethan Dodd’s crystallised representation of a lightning bolt. A Sense of Home was another concept addressed by Mary Walter-Thomas in ‘Eirianell’, as well as in the works of Megan Fergusson and Zoe Peridakis. The Self and Consciousness are explored in the work of Jade Trollope and Tobiasz Wasyliszyn.

Creative approaches concerned with the Materiality of objects is a topic frequently addressed by the works exhibited at Undergraduate Degree Shows, however, with one of the foremost Ceramics courses in the UK, at Cardiff School of Art & Design, Materiality is done well. One such artist approaching the theme was Nathan Mullis, whose works address how the making process can afford the objects meaning and significance.

www.nathanmullisartist.co.uk

Further diversifying the nature of display, the Fine Art show includes a darkened exhibition space as well as the typical white-cube environment, showing digital video-works and light-works.

Despite recognising some links in the subjects of the works exhibited, every student has accomplished a distinctive approach. The section below details my picks of works included in the Summer Show that showcase the talents of the soon-to-be recent Graduates of CSAD:

Emily Panizzi’s contribution to the show, an operational marble-run construction, functions as a metaphor for current financial structure and practice. The work is designed to represent economical cash-flows and trickle-down economies, highlighting the eventuality of most currency settling in the pockets of the wealthiest 1%.

Panizzi has expressed an interest in the Japanese concept of Ma, which “explores ideas around a space delivering an experience”, and it is the interactive aspect of the work that I consider most successful. Whether deliberate or not, occasional system failures -where a marble might stick in the works, or leave the run altogether- serve to support the metaphorical functioning of the piece.

www.emilypanizzi.com

Lauren Bailey’s abstract micro-compositions appear to populate, or even germinate within their pocket of space inside the CSAD building.
Jovially gathering in this cohesive installation work, the constituent parts of Bailey’s artwork make up a virus of two and three-dimensional things that might threaten to infect the shared exhibition space had they not been contained.

Bailey’s installation incorporates features of the physical environment, growing over foil-covered vents and galvanised pipes. Seemingly improvised forms constitute the ‘real-world’ expression of marks made by digital drawing tools, and the viewer is transported into a three-dimensional drawing of a soft-play centre.
Through playful combination of colour and form, this light-hearted approach to process and materials reads as an ode to the doodle and relieves the viewer from the often-weighty nature of contemporary artworks.

There is joy in the simplicity of Bailey’s compositions.

www.laurenbaileyart.tumblr.com

Danielle Adair’s contribution to the show appears, on first impressions, both repulsive and intriguing. Atop the rusted and bare innards of a sprung mattress, sits an abject representation of…what exactly? Certainly something of the once internal, made external is at work here. Initially communicated is a callous harshness, an image devoid of comfort. Adair’s Phil questions tensions between the physical and psychological conditions of the body. The pulsing mass of exposed flesh is, to me, a reminder of the incarceration of the psyche within the abject body. The mass of injured latex and rattling motor translates as a physical embodiment of the inevitability of suffering. As in David Lynch’s Eraserhead, the ‘child’ is exposed as skinless and sore, Adair’s Phil is itself an example of a raw, unsettling presence, an acceptance of the limits of the flesh. However gruesome, perhaps Phil has the opposite capacity; to communicate a certain optimism, or triumph of consciousness over the flesh.

https://danielleeadair.com/

Julia Hopkins presents a playground of perplexing, small-scale structures, (or are they maquettes of larger works?) Hopkins’ constructions dance the boundary between the functional and non-functional; what should be, and what is. These are structures that appear initially to have a purpose, or function, but on further inspection reveal a uselessness which implies that the value of the objects must lie elsewhere.

Akin to a contemporary-art-MouseTrap, the neo-modernist compositions imply interconnected movement, balance and reactivity. Recognisable in the works is a strong synergy of materials; common threads: timber, plaster, thread itself. Also recognisable are a host of recurrant symbols; the pendant, the tower, the scaffold…but why? Everything about this collection of works suggests a game of sorts, to make sense of the arrangement where perhaps the joke is that there is none. Hopkins perpetuates a state of curiosity, a need to ‘figure-it-out’, where so-often artworks convey strictly determined readings. Thank you for keeping us on our toes.

www.juliahopkins.co.uk

An ominous mountain of refuse dominates the exhibition space of Sam Wall. It mechanically stutters and screeches towards viewers who might draw closer to investigate.

This awkward stack of regurgitated detritus has been collected by the artist from the urban environment. Objects, or leftovers, spat out by the city and rendered purposeless are collected and absorbed into a creature befitting the grim-reaper of throw-away tat.

Wall’s monster-making, in both his sculptural and two-dimensional works, questions the value of objects to represent a culture deemed obsolete.

https://www.facebook.com/ekstraternek/

I would like to join Olwen Moseley in wishing this year’s graduates all the best in their futures, be that in pursuing further study or employment in industry. I fully recommend readers to pay a visit to the Fine Art Degree Show 2016, and to check out equally impressive offerings by other departments of the school while you’re there!

Cardiff School of Art & Design’s Degree Show 2016 runs on the Llandaf Campus from 21^st – 27^th May.

https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/artanddesign/Pages/summer-show.aspx

Museums & heritage

The Museum Critics An insight into National Museum Cardiff by Amelia Seren Roberts

December 31, 2015 Amelia Seren Leave a comment

Young Critics, 3rd Act Critics and Kids in Museums volunteers are working in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales (ACNMW) http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/ on a new free project focusing on the quality and standards of exhibitions and programming at their sites across Wales. Those involved recently spent a day with the staff at the National Museum, Cardiff. We will be featuring the responses to the day from the participants our last response is from artist Amelia Seren Roberts.
This blog post is reproduced from Amelia’s original blog which can be found at
AMELIA SEREN ROBERTS: IVOR DAVIES AND DESTRUCTION IN ART –
At the Natio… http://ameliaseren.blogspot.com/2015/12/ivor-davies-and-destruction-in-art-at.html?spref=tw

IVOR DAVIES AND DESTRUCTION IN ART

At the National Museum of Wales.
Curated by Judit Bognor.
I recently attended a tour of the Ivor Davies retrospective hosted by Judit Bognor, co-curator of the exhibition and tutor on the MFA at Cardiff School of Art & Design.
Judit began by explaining that the show was a solo show, rather than a group exhibition. In terms of curatorial practice, if the show is to contain different works by a group of artists, a topic or theme may be chosen before or after the exhibiting group is decided.
In this case, NMW was to show a retrospective of Ivor Davies’ practice. It is unusual for a gallery or museum to show a single artist’s work unless they are well-established.
The usual format of such retrospectives is a chronological one, starting at the early works and ending at the newer works; the intention of such is to show the development of an artists practice throughout their career. Other, non-chronological, approaches to displaying the pieces may include grouping by topic or materials.
In the case of Ivor Davies’ exhibition, the works are shown in reverse-chronological order, starting at the most recent works, and developing to focus on more early examples. The freedom Judit was allowed to curate with was partially due to the artworks being largely sourced from outside collections. When an artwork is in a permanent collection, the owner has say over when, where and how a work is presented, as such the curators input may be limited.
Judit drew attention to the relationship that exists between the artist, curator and institution when organising exhibitions. She spoke of the conflict often experienced between the ideas of the curator, the artist’s intentions for the work, and the institutional context.

Judit expanded on the reasoning behind the title of the exhibition; a common thread that her colleagues and herself had recognised within the work over the whole of the artist’s career was that of destruction and creation, material transformation, and of durational thought. This was evidenced in works that developed during a symposium Ivor co-organised in the Sixties on the topic of destruction in art. Works related to the theme, as well as an archive of over 300 documents are shown alongside informative texts.
What interested me about the consistent theme of this exhibition was its relevance to a contemporary political context. A large number of the works having been created around the time of the Cold War, when the risk of nuclear devastation was a very real threat, the questions the works raise about destruction seem all the more poignant. Whether a deliberate comment or not, the timing of the exhibition, which coincides with Britain currently seeming on the brink of conflict, means that its concerns have become relevant once more.
It is important when considering whether an exhibition and the specific works within it require accompanying texts, the establishment within which the works are shown. It is more likely that simple, explanatory text in large print would be seen alongside works in a public museum, than would in a contemporary art gallery. This is because the curator must consider whether such interventions are appropriate in the context of the work and venue, and within this must select written supporting materials which suitably reflect the varying interests and academic capabilities of the reader. In this case, because the exhibition is sited at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, the audience is varied in age, ability and interests and thus large, simple explanatory text is appropriately shown in each room, whilst smaller texts are shown alongside specific works should the viewer choose to engage with the show in more depth. It is the viewer themselves in this case who decides their individual level of interaction with the show.
An interesting question thrown up by the curation of the exhibition is of how the viewer might experience a performance durationally. In this case, the curator has chosen to display a video recording of the performance, as well as a re-staging of one performance itself. Alongside this, an archive of materials surrounding the performance are exhibited which detail documentation of the memory of the event, instructions (or scores) for the performance, sketches and other ephemera.
Judit spoke briefly about the difficulties the team had experienced when considering how best to re-stage a historic performance in a contemporary setting. This is a topic that I have discussed once before whilst at the New Walk Gallery in Leicester, following their purchase of a performance piece by contemporary artist, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd. The difficulties in the conservation, and re-staging of a performance piece (especially a historic example) lie in the inability of the curator or institution to ever accurately re-create the exact context in which the work was first performed. Judit has approached this, whilst in conversation with the artist, by following the original scores of the performance, whilst adapting a proportion of them to fit more appropriately in to a museum context. Working in this way raises interesting questions about where the artwork exists and whether a performance work can ever truly be recreated or owned.
For me, the highlights of the exhibition include a painting by Ivor Davies which invites the viewer to ‘Ysgrifennwch graffiti prioddul ar fur y capel gyda’r sialc sydd yma’ (Write graffiti on the side of the chapel with the chalk); and in the archive, a darkly humorous newspaper article written by Robin Page entitled ‘Death and Art’ which cynically reports on an artform which involves the expressive act of stamping frogs to death whilst wearing a silver jumpsuit.
To see more information about the show, please visit the National Museum Wales, or take a look at their website here.

Creating opportunities for a diverse range of people to experience and respond to sport, arts, culture and live events. / Lleisiau amrywiol o Gymru yn ymateb i'r celfyddydau a digwyddiadau byw