Swansea Metropolitan University

So i went into university today, to find only one lecturer in (there was meant to be 3 in the crit at 10am). January is not a good month to start the year off with. The ice stops people getting to the university, the cold makes everyone ill. No one was there to interact with, though the odd student could be found wondering the hallways.

Not as an exciting a start as i wanted to 2009, but then there arent fireworks and parades in reality.

The pressure is mounting now. So ive handed in my notice at work, in two weeks time all my time and efforts will be purely directed to my course and my future career (ideally). That's an extra 32 hours a week towards my art.

Ive got a meeting with the local environmental officer tomorrow, talking about what we can and cannot do within the bog itself.

Looking forward to getting the next stage of the project rolling.

So, i got a phone call yesterday from Nia at Safle in Cardiff.

I've been shortlisted for the Safle graduate award 2009. And i am thrilled! I felt such an achievement when i was told that i had been shortlisted for an interview on February 6th.

So now im looking out for a letter in the post explaining the details, should arrive after the new year.

I am so glad i applied. I look at my artist CV and automatically see how empty and unexperienced it is. But Catrin Webster said that it isnt empty and unexperienced, it is fresh and exciting. That there are perks in being a new artist, because everyones looking to discover the next big thing.

I also had a more than slight fear of rejection hanging over my head. Making the process of applying even harder, but Craig Wood gave me wise words of advise: "if you aren't what they are looking for then fuck it." It was following a conversation about adapting the art you 'send off' with applications. Making you fit what you think they want. Craig also mentioned that you don't always know what people are looking for, so its best to be as current as you can when sending images off.

I followed their advise and encouragement and i feel really good and positive about my future steps towards an artistic career. I can really see myself speeding up, these next few months are going to be a huge change in mindset. My lectures are going to have such an effect in my final development as a student.

Even if i don't receive the Safle graduate award, i already have gained a enforced enthusiasm towards applying to awards and competitions. But i'm going to give everything i've got towards the interview, its going to be amazing.

:-) yeah!

Here is a statement from Hannah Brown, the Swansea based artist that i will be working with over the next few months.

"My work has two main driving forces: My deep concern for current environmental issues and the notion of self in relation to place. Much of my work is site specific and engages with a wide variety of media and processes. The work directs the medium and approach and there is always a performative aspect to my practice. I have a different relationship with each site I work on, and am dealing with a number of different issues that affect each particular place. Through my work I try to shift perceptions to focus on the human impact on our contemporary environment.

Focusing on environmental issues; the majority of my work is sight specific in which I am responding to issues that are affecting a particular sight and place.

Through my work I also confront personal issues when responding to a sight that holds a particular reverence to me, be this the loss of a childhood playing fields to yet another housing estate or life in rural villages.

I work within a variety of medias as different sights and messages may be better conveyed with a different approach, although there is always an air of performance as I am physically working with and in the sight and often try to change the sight for the better through my work.

Through my work I aim not only to change a sight for the better but to also show and maybe heighten these issues to an audience in the hope of inciting a change in there way of thinking. My work in the gallery takes the form of installations combining sculpture, text, videos and photos. For me art is a way of responding to a subject that I deeply care about through something I love."

I am really excited about working together in the new year. I need to get my research-skates on!

These are just a few images of Hannah Browns work, i dont really have a lot of information on them. Next time i meet up with her i will get some details and put them up here.

Hope you enjoy them as much as i do, i love the playfulness in "Taking it back" and "oh i do like to be beside the seaside".

Crymlyn Bog (Cors Crymlyn) is a beautiful example of fenland in South Wales, situated to the eastern side of Kilvey Hill within the Swansea Valley. On an international level Crymlyn Bog is an area of scientific interest due to the number of plant life that is rare within the UK as well as this it is also an important refuge for a variety of wetland birdlife.

Crymlyn Bog developed at the estuary of the River Clydach and the River Neath. The area, which is a nature reserve, has been put under tremendous stress. The former Glyncastle colliery has been mined since 1875, abandoned in 1965, and in 1994 the water levels in the mine raised, accumulating dissolved iron (up to 60 mg/l). This then escaped through an airshaft in the Clydach Valley and in Resloven, contaminating the Clydach Brook and River Neath with orange ochre.

In 1921 a BP oil refinery was commissioned in Llandarcy, which was close in June 1998. Adjacent to Crymlyn Bog there were multiple reports and investigations into the northern area of the site being used as a disposal area. The refineries waste included Pyrophoric waste, fuller’s earth clay, refractory waste, tank-bottom sludges, demolition rubble, domestic waste and asbestos graves. The effects of this have been oil, potential vanadium, and hydrocarbon contamination. Free oil seepage has been occurring around the edge of Crymlyn Bog that is currently contained by a plywood interceptor and slowly removed by vacuum trucks.

To the south of Crymlyn Bog lies the Crymlyn Burrows’ industrial area, including the Linamar Elba Works site, the Gower Chemicals site, and Network Rail’s Swansea Burrows yard. Alongside all of this Crymlyn Bog has also been affected by residents in the surrounding area have been illegally dumping unwanted waste, such as fridges, kitchen units, toilets etc.

Hannah Brown and myself want to respond to Crymlyn Bog and the effects of industrial presence. Creating an awareness of the importance and beauty of Crymlyn Bog as well as the repercussions of the placement of industrial sites. The industrial side of the Swansea Valley and surrounding Valleys are not to be responded to negativity, as South Wales has a strong tie to industry within its history and development. However, the sacrifice of rare and beautiful natural sites is something the public should be aware of. Our actions and the actions of industries are to be held responsible; through the art we are creating we hope a wider public awareness will arise and a contribution to the schemes already in place will follow.

So i am bed ridden! great! What was a chest infection has now turned into an investigation to whether or not i have a blood clot in my lung or chest wall or something. Though they said it is unlikely, they just want to make sure. And i agree.

So until the test results come back i have been told to stay warm and rest. Which means i cant attend the last few days of university (sigh) or go in to work (YES!). I hate working a job with no creative input or mental stimulation, which means i MUST make my career within the art world work. On that note i decided to drag my laptop into bed (along with my trusty hot-water bottle) and spend today happily developing my 'external elements'.

As my lecture Tim Davis tells us:

"Professional artists take on many roles in pursing their career – art maker, curator, teacher, writer, designer, project manager, marketing, administrator, fundraiser, spokesperson etc etc. While each of these 'roles' can be individually recongnised as specific areas of employment within the arts, the reality is, unless you are fortunate to be 'discovered' and support by a wealthy patron or galley that enables you to sit in your studio and just 'make work;, you will need to do most, if not all, of these things to survive.

At this stage in your course, getting involved in activity beyond the studios is important; organising your own exhibitions, entering competitions, initiating artist led projects and networks are crucial to making you visible and credible as artists."

And i agree, i have been telling myself for months that i want to start writing up short articles on exhibitions i've experienced. I feel it will develop my understanding of art, the current state of the art world and exercise the critical side of my thought processes. However, i've not managed to even write up one exhibition. The downfall of a lazy student! However, now that im spending the day in bed – i am using that time to enter a few 2009 graduate awards that i've come across, and i feel pretty good about my applications (for now)….. *fingers crossed*

As well as that i am putting a proposal together for an exhibition, which myself and another local artist will be pursuing. I will post a separate blog with an outline of the area we are choosing to respond to. While South Wales has a lot to thank its industrial heritage for, it also holds concern for the protection of its famously beautiful countryside. Every action has a repercussion and most goals involve a sacrifice. Swansea Valley was our starting point, and we have now narrowed it down to one area that we feel has a lot to respond to.

Crymlyn Bog.