Intro
I received notification for this residency way back in early 2011, after seeing an advert for on Axis. So for me it has been along time coming. Really great to be here, in the country that flows through my maternal family tree. My Welsh family connection fuelled my desire to apply for the residency. Also I viewed the residency as a chance to continue my own professional development and allow time/space to advance my research into the digital video medium.
First impressions of Aberstwyth and the Arts Centre is very good. Amazing buildings and excellent facilities. The studios designed by Thomas Heatherwick (2009) are top, everything you would want in a studio. A real sense of vibrancy running through the Arts Centre, and the University as a whole. Huge amount to see and do.
The residency is well funded not only do you receive a studio, but also accommodation (shared flat with the other artists in residence), and £500p/m for food/materials.
Work
My great grandfather (Morgan Shearman) worked down one of the Southern Welsh coal mines. A nasty, dark, cramped, dangerous, back breaking job one which only a handful now really experience. The mining industry played a huge part in shaping Wales and Britain industrial heritage. A profession which is in the very soul of the Welsh landscape, and people. For this reason my work will explore the texture and feel of the three main mining resources in Wales; coal, slate and lead.
The dark matter will be juxtaposed with it’s alternate opposite. On viewing the ordinance survey map for the first time my eye was immediately drawn to a wind farm not too far NE of Aberystwyth. I’ve always found wind farms to be beautiful poetic forests. Always wanted to do work based on wind farms, they have this unerring tranquility to them. The idea soon formed of doing work which explores polar opposite colour and textures. White wind farms against the black, dense, smoke landscape of coal. A straight up ying-yang contrast.
Part One | Week One
Officially started on Monday 4th though most of this day was filled with moving everything in.
On the Tuesday 5th, I took my camera and hiked the 300m up to the wind farm, after parking up in Plas Gogerddan. After a freezing start it soon turned into a very hot day, not a cloud in the sky. Surrounded by Red Kites and sheep I set about filming the huge wind mills. Mynydd Gorddu wind farm is vast, ideally I would have wanted a slightly overcast day, but I know how precious sunny days are in Wales. Filming went well, managed to get 60mins of filming before battery ran out. Continued my hike, eventually doing 11.5miles up and down hills.
Wednesday 6th this day was in the studio, working with the footage, building up layers. Through layering, and repeating, I slowly build up texture. During the filming I recorded several 1-10mins individual pieces of footage, all of these I have sliced and layered on top of each other. This is then compressed creating a new piece for layering, the process which I try to keep organic is repeated throughout.
Extra note
Also doing some drawing/painting work, to allow me to understand composition and allow other thoughts on texture to form.
On the journey to Aber I stopped off at the mining town of Blaenavon to visit the Big Pit, good experience but sadly didn’t have time to venture down in to the Pit, but will do over the course of my stay.
When hiking up to the wind farm I came across an old abandoned slate mine, it looked quite sad, my own mind dwelt on former hardships, and loss. To go with the dark, heavy textures I want to convey in the piece I also wouldn’t want to ignore the melancholic undertones of workers losing jobs and colleagues.
