SELECTED WORK

Text and voice are powerful but can also be drowned out, and when a language is not taught how could it be understood?

 

My work uses text and the Welsh Language (Cymraeg) to explore identity and protest the colonisation of Wales. Through this, I showcase the language exploring themes of Welshness, protest and hope.

 

Cymraeg was banned for over 500 years due to English colonisation. I utilise Cymraeg to investigate my relationship with welsh identity. When using welsh I make mistakes, miss mutations and substitute English words to make my point. I call this Cymraeg Ddrwg (bad welsh). Through this, I embrace language as an evolving tool for creation.  Layering of text, artwork, metal frames and sound adds complexity and distortion to the work, distancing it from legibility.

 

I conducted interviews about welsh language and identity at the Abergavenny train station in my home town. A place of movement containing a blend of people with different relations to Wales and Welshness. My installations embody the commotion of a train station; creating a space for movement, with light and sound guiding the viewer through the work. 

 

Protest is a large part of Wales’ legacy. Through my metal sets and protest banner motifs, I strive to display the power of protest as a tool for change. Sound is vital. Within my practice, I interview people about their relationship to Cymraeg and welsh identity, as well as their experience of protest and hope. Hearing people use and talk about Cymraeg documents that it is still alive and means a lot to so many people. 

 

I strive to share this history and experience that most aren’t aware of. Suppression of cultures through colonisation has been experienced by different groups, in different ways, to different degrees. My practice is a manifestation of my experience following the consequences of one such instance and aims to grow and share others stories on a wider scale.