Rhôd 2011

The third annual Rhôd event will be open at Drefelin Mill near Drefach Felindre, Carmarthenshire from 11 June until 18 June 2011. It looks like it will be another intriguing coming together of artists exploring the 'Urban /rural dialogue' - here's what Rhôd is about:

"Rhôd is an annual exhibition / event that takes place in rural West Wales, UK. One of the main objectives of Rhôd is to site contemporary art in a rural landscape creating a dialogue between urban artists and artists who work in rural settings. This dialogue is taken up by the artworks in their environment and further developed by our audience.

Arddangosfa/digwyddiad blynyddol yw Rhôd sy’n digwydd yng nghefn gwlad Gorllewin Cymru, DU

Un o brif amcanion Rhôd yw lleoli celf gyfoes mewn tirwedd wledig gan greu deialog rhwng artistiaid dinesig ac artistiaid sy’n gweithio yng nghefn gwlad. Mae’r ddeialog yn cael ei datblygu trwy osod y gwaith celf yn yr amgylchedd gyda’r gynulleidfa wedyn yn ei hymestyn."

Two curators, one based in Cardiff (Jason Pinder), one in West Wales (Simon Whitehead) are selecting artists to bring their work to the mill and its environs for the duration of the show. The folk band Fernhill have been commissioned by Simon Whitehead to create work throughout the festival with film work by Ben Stammers. The Cardiff contingent chosen by Jason Pinder include: David Cushley, Graham Dunning, Ed Elliott and Anthony Shapland. 

The opening event is on 11 June from 2pm with a Twmpath event at 7:30 pm in Neuadd y Ddraig Goch in Drefach Felindre.

White Shift - an installation

Kathryn Campbell Dodd and Louise Bird - White Shift - more images

On Tuesday, I spent the day at Aberystwyth Arts Centre at the launch of Culture Colony. A day of events had been organised by the man behind the venture, Pete Telfer. With a new website, Culture Colony is set to become a great place to bookmark for Welsh art - an active space where artists can show their work, blog and communicate with each other. It is also a place to view cultural content about the arts in Wales. It is responding to the dirth of cultural programming on TV, and with his television background, Pete brings a fantastic ethos to the project. He aims to keep the editing to a minimum, allowing the artists and practitioners involved to tell their own truth.

From the left: Kim Fielding, Ann Jordan, Nazma Ali, Mari Beynon Owen, Michael Cousin

I showed a collaborative piece of work with fellow Carmarthen artist, Louise Bird in the Round Studio space. Serendipitously, we we sharing the space with composer and sound artist Ed Wright from North Wales. We met for the first time in the morning and within an hour the work was installed and we had negotiated a really nice working relationship. Ed's sound pieces worked really well with our installation which also included a video projection of Louise's crochet and added all sorts of layers to the experience.

Michelle Collins - Documentation is My Downfall - photo: Michelle Collins

Other artists' involved included Kim Fielding from tactileBOSCH studios and gallery in Cardiff who installed two photographic flat light box works in the entrance to the Round Studio - I was delighted that our work was reached via Kim's. Carmarthenshire artist Michelle Collins was also showing her work in one of the amazing silver artist units on the site, Documentation is My Downfall comprised of a series of archive boxes filled with Michelle's reference materials. The visitor is asked to browse through the boxes and curate scraps, articles and images onto a pin board alongside other people's choices. There was also tea and cake to be shared - excellent!

Thanks to Culture Colony for a great day - please visit the site and join in!

The Dartboard for Witches: Contemporary work in textiles

Tabitha Kyoko Moses - Hair Purse - Seen here

I went to the opening of The Dart Board for Witches at Aberystwyth Arts Centre last night. It is good to have an overview of this kind; a look at the way textiles have been accepted into fine art practice and contextualised historically, culturally, politically. The show is themed with a focus on the human figure. There is generally a preponderance of women working in this way, textiles often still carry a strong feminist message; most of the exhibitors are women, but two men are also showing.

My favourite piece in the show is Tabitha Kyoko Moses' Hair Purse, curiously repellent and intriguing. I couldn't help thinking about the sporran my dad wore with his kilt when I was young!

I like Naori Priestly's work, I hadn't seen The Shadow of the Mother before, Louise Bourgeois, hovered in my mind, but with Naori's dark fairy tale edge.

Naori Priestly - The Shadow of the Mother

The painted carpets of Finnish artist, Silja Puranen are particularly strong. A combination of transfer photography, textile paint, soft pastels and stitching - new techniques and ancient techniques together making a highly distinctive style.

Silja Puranen - Siamese Twins

I wrote about about Rosalind Wyatt a while ago, and have only seen her Stitch Life of Others series in images, so was very pleased to get a chance to see something in the flesh.

Rosalind Wyatt - The Stitch Life of Others (part)

There are two textile works by Aberystwyth based Mary Lloyd Jones, I saw some of these pieces at Ruthin Craft Centre last year, and found them very engaging. I was a bit disappointed that there is only one piece by Laura Ford, I was hoping to have a chance to see some of her more recent work.

Overall I think it is a good show, but also a safe show in many ways - I would quite have liked to see some more experimental pieces - but it is a rapidly moving discipline and this is where publicly funded galleries are disadvantaged, the long lead in for curation and publicity always keeps the show a whisker behind the cutting edge.

The Dartboard for Witches: Contemporary work in textiles

Naori Priestly - Gerda's Red Shoes - seen here

I am really looking forward to seeing the new show at Aberystwyth Arts Centre which opens on 23 July. The Dartboard for Witches is an exhibition of work which uses textiles as part of fine art practice. The title for the show comes from the Sylvia Plath poem, Witch Burning.

The image above is of work by Naori Priestly, these lovely knitted shoes were also in a show curated by Oriel Myrddin Gallery - Crafted: Contemporary craft and fine art in 2009.

Here is the exhibition information: "Textile is a material with strong associations. It is our second skin for most of the day, so consciously or not we all have an intimate knowledge of it as a material - how it folds, how it feels. The very familiarity and association of textiles with the everyday domestic has in the past made it difficult to see it used as a serious material for artworks. But in recent years, artists have cut textiles loose from the limitations of domestic and decorative use - wonderful as these are - to explore the material's wider possibilities in carrying meaning. This exhibition brings together works by artists who use textile methods and materials in their fine art practice, often in unexpected ways, with the focus on the human figure."

Artists include: Laura Ford, Caren Garfen, Rosie James, Mary Lloyd Jones, Doug Jones, Elaine Wilson, Natasha Kerr, Shizuko Kimura, Becky Knight, Jane McKeating, Tabitha Kyoko Moses, Clyde Olliver, Naori Priestley, Silja Puranen, Lynn Setterington, Sue Stone and Rosalind Wyatt.

Here is the exhibition catalogue:

Open publication - Free publishing - More galleries