University of South Wales
BA Photography 2019
CONTENTS 4
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12
Jessica Cleeves
Luka Ambokadze
Aerin Hope
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20
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Rowan Katy Quinton
Lucy Abraham
Eleanor Davis
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28
33
Kate Butcher
William Morgan
Lewis Brymner
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Anna Goldberg
Oli Robinson
Adrianna Uryszek
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Alina Hibbert
Alice Howard
Denise Recchia
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Colophon
Emma Geliot
Acknowledgements
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Jo Barton
Daniel Thomas
Ruby Graham
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76
Hannah Williams
Sam Sturt
Morgan Woodward
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Llšr Tonge
Deacon Thomas
Garmon Evans
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96
Sophie Lewis
Tomas Vaughan
Jessica Tennant
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Neurin Trace
Lauren Hornsby
Becca Head
ANACRONIAETH TIRWEDD / ANACHRONOUS LANDSCAPES
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Jessica Cleeves
Instagram: @jesscleevesphotog Trwy ddefnyddio ffotograffiaeth gyfoes a cherfluniaeth feddal, mae Tirweddau Anacroniaeth yn ystyried yr effaith weledol ac emosiynol sydd gan dirweddau diwydiannol segur yn Ne Cymru. Mae’n edrych ar gynodiadau unigryw’r tirweddau estron hyn a’u rôl yn eu cymunedau lleol. Dewiswyd pob chwarel, nid yn unig oherwydd eu bod wedi ei adael, ond hefyd oherwydd y perthnasoedd anarferol rydym yn rhannu gyda’u hamgylchedd. Mae gan bobl leol atgofion llygredig o chwarel Tranch Pyle ar ôl i berson boddi flynyddoedd yn ôl, mae honiadau o halogiad asbestos yn peri pryder i drigolion ar safle Trwyn y Rhws. Eistedda chwarel Morlais ar safle adfeilion castell o’r 13eg ganrif ac mae Blaengwynlais yn parhau i fod yn llawn cyfrinachedd; wedi’i ffensio a’i guddio o’r golwg, fe’i disgrifir fel ‘cwsg’ yn unig. Yn y pen draw, y lleoliadau hyn yw’r rhai y cafodd eu tirweddau naturiol eu dyrannu, eu gwaredu a’u newid yn barhaol. Mae’r darnau tecstilau cerfluniol, wedi’u gwau â llaw fel ymateb personol i bob lleoliad. Wedi eureu yn gyfan gwbl o gynfasau a roddwyd gan gymunedau lleol, mae’r anacroniaethau tecstilau hyn yn cyflwyno elfen o ddomestigrwydd ac agosatrwydd at y gwaith. Drwy hyn maent yn gweithredu fel cynrychiolaeth o’r cymunedau sy’n cartrefu’r tiroedd gwrthodedig, diffaith hyn.
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Anachronous Landscapes contemplates, through the use of contemporary photography and soft sculpture, the visual and emotional impact of disused industrial landscapes in South Wales. It explores the unique connotations of these alien landscapes and the subsequent role they have within their local communities. Each quarry was selected, not only because it has been abandoned, but also because of the unusual relationships shared with their surroundings. Locals have tainted memories of Tranch Pyle quarry after a tragic drowning many years ago, allegations of asbestos contamination worry residents at the site of Rhoose Point. Morlais quarry sits on the site of 13th century castle ruins and Blaengwynlais continues to be shrouded in secrecy; fenced off and hidden from view, it is classified only as ‘dormant’. Ultimately, these locations are those whose natural landscapes have been dissected, discarded and changed indelibly. Sculptural, hand-knitted textile pieces are made as a personal response to each location. Created exclusively from bedsheets donated by local communities, these textile anachronisms introduce an element of domesticity and intimacy to the work. Through this they act as a representation of the communities which house these outcast, desolate terrains. 7
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY� When a man takes the time to think intensively about his life, he can be overwhelmed with fear but also hope. He fears that we are senseless schizoids that end our lives with death and questions the point of every action or fight we choose to make in our existence. He then has hope, remembering that he was created for a purpose and that there must be life after death. These self-portraits depict an authentic expression of this human chaos, boring everyday routines, swirling sadness, pain and isolation. This project exclusively uses domestic settings as a backdrop, such as the bedroom, garage and loft; emphasising the personal isolation of each scene. There are scars that no one sees and wounds that do not bleed. Silence is precious, but it can be more precious when an individual can express their own silence louder. There is no light without darkness, because to feel the light, you need to know what darkness is; otherwise light will have no meaning. 10
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Instagram: @lukaambokadzeart
Luka Ambokadze
A SEQUENCE OF EFFECT Aerin Hope
Instagram: @aerinh_pe Cinema has developed a set of technical conventions to engage the viewer and deliver meaning. A Sequence of Effect applies some of these strategies to a series of still photographic images in order to allow the viewer to construct their own narratives. A protagonist is the main character within a story, someone who creates emotion through struggle in order to bond with the audience and to develop the narrative. However, this role can be reversed as the antagonist, offering a different type of story. Jack Torrance in The Shining depicts a role which evolves as the other characters effect his mental state. This in turn changes how the audience feel towards him. The visual representation of the singular character, as well as the use of loaded locations, opens interpretations and links within the photographic sequences. Close attention is also paid to styling and setting—expanding the scope of the viewer’s interpretation. The positioning of the character’s gaze creates movement beyond the photograph, a sense of ellipsis despite being static, further expanding the apparently invisible stories.
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BUCCA CALLS
“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”- Van Gogh Cornwall has felt like its own country for millennia, bearing more resemblance to Brittany in France than it does to the rest of the UK. Being surrounded by water, it is said that the sea runs in their blood as they have made their livelihoods from it. Their communities revolve around fishing, sea shanties and tales of smugglers. Due to this separation they have their own language, tendencies and concerns. This connection with Cornwall can be seen generations down the line of Cornish immigrants who feel this pull to return to the country of their ancestors. This project explores the connection the Cornish have to the sea, whilst simultaneously emphasizing the county’s unique difficulties. These troubles are often overlooked by artists when depicting a romanticised vision of Cornwall. One of said troubles includes the dangers of spending a life at sea. Bucca Calls highlights this struggle by documenting fisherman and the RNLI, who risk their lives to rescue people and put food on their tables. 16
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Instagram: @rowankatyofficial
Rowan Katy Quinton
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ESGEULUSO / OVERLOOKED Mae Esgeuluso yn archwiliad personol i mewn i adeiladau yn Llanelli, sydd ar y cyfan yn cael eu gwerthfawrogi, ond sydd heb edrych arnynt yn fanwl. Mae gan yr adeiladau hyn lawer o nodweddion prydferth sydd yn parhau i fynd yn ddisylw, fel y gwelir ar draws pensaernïaeth Cymru.
After returning home and submerging in the landscape, this work captures the covert and ignored details of the town; monumentalising the heretofore unnoticed and unseen. Black and white works abstract each area away from its original surrounding, encouraging the audience to appreciate architecture in its individual details, as well as in its entirety.
Lucy Abraham
Overlooked is a personal exploration into the buildings of Llanelli, which are by and large valued, but never looked at in minute detail. These buildings have many beautiful features which continuously go unappreciated, as seen throughout Welsh architecture.
Instagram: @lucyabrahamphotographs
Ar ôl dychwelyd adref a soddi yn y dirwedd, mae’r gwaith hwn yn cipio manylion cudd y dref. Mae gwaith du a gwyn yn tynnu pob ardal oddi wrth ei amgylchedd gwreiddiol, gan annog y gynulleidfa i werthfawrogi pensaernïaeth yn ei manylion unigol, yn ogystal ag yn ei chyfanrwydd.
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Instagram: @eleanordavisphoto
Eleanor Davis
MIND IN THE MACHINE
Length: 00:15:33 Ratio: 1920 x 1080 / 25FPS Shot on: Canon 6DII & Canon 5DmkIII 22
Virtual Reality occupies the intersection between humanity and technology. When the physical frame disappears, it opens up unimaginable possibilities, which alter our own understanding of reality. Although the technology is maturing, VR provides a whole new terrain for highly immersive creations that bring the viewer inside the art. When immersed in the virtual realm, there is a temporary loss of self as the user withdraws from the real world and inhabits a virtual embodiment. mind in the machine records the movements of various individuals as they interact with a rhythm-based game, switching to a virtual self, thus raising the question of what it means be an autonomous being when confronted with a world where the virtual becomes indistinguishable from reality. VR and alternate realities have been portrayed as a danger to society to the point of it highlighting the darkest corners of our psyches. Depicted in films such as Westworld and The Matrix, alternate realities open up whole new vistas that provide humanity infinite narratives to encounter and limitless worlds to construct. mind in the machine models these anxieties, using VR as a vessel to explore the depths of human perception and creative expression.
ABSQUATULATE
Absquatulate derives from the Wild West slang for something or someone to ‘leave or disappear’. The Wild West is one of the most contrived landscapes of all time. Most classic Westerns have not been filmed in the landscape they depict and yet this distorted view still controls and shapes cultural or social identities. Having felt a deep connection to the surrounding landscapes, Absquatulate aims to visually represent Wales, showing how its lands have become a significant factor determining its cultural identity. This frequently results in stereotypes such as those concerning its masculinity and industry. 24
Instagram: @kateevephotography
Kate Butcher
Welsh landscapes often have a romantic vision of freedom and patriotism cast over them, and concomitantly a contrasting view of turmoil and hardship. Its history is inescapable when the remains of the coal mining industry are solidified as heritage in almost every town in South Wales. Absquatulate intends to confront the conventional representations of South Wales by bringing a completely fresh perspective to the Welsh landscape. The aim of this work is to make Wales appear as somewhere it is not, to avoid the conventional view of the valleys so often depicted in photography. The Welsh valleys are much like the Wild West in determining and shaping our understandings of the land where we live. 25
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URBAN EVOLUTION William Morgan
Instagram: @williammorgan.photo
As you step onto Rowley Way on the Alexandra Road estate located in Camden, London you are transported far away from Britain’s capital. You have entered a city within a city that has helped transform the way we live today, yet has also received a large amount of scrutiny. It’s important to consider the transformation of the estate, the diverse community within it, the personalised spaces and how the exterior has aged over time. It raises the question as to whether we should judge our newly built environment before we truly understand it. For instance, did those that denigrate imagine the brutalist skin of the building and the young trees and flora transforming and evolving into another world? In 2019, the Estate is particularly recognisable through its many appearances in a wide range of media. This lead to the inspiration of how the overall project was produced using a range of photographic techniques and technology. Such modern developments enabling a wider visibility of the world around us may result in a better understanding, acceptance and perception of our built environment and how we comment on it. Maybe this is an example of how architecture regenerates and initiates new conversations with new audiences and asks us do we truly know how the future of our urban environment will evolve? 30
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SYNTHESIS Lewis Brymner
Instagram: @lewisbrymner
Synthesis is a unity of elements. This project features a collection of portraiture showcasing the faces behind the rave culture in Cardiff, a city with a rich and vibrant music scene. Synthesis explores the role of the DJ in a local scale, celebrating the accomplishments of the rave culture. Each image is a constructed abstraction of the rave environment, utilising vibrant colours that encapsulate the aura and energy found at raves. Within this context, the images feature the DJs in a position of strength and authority. Inside a gig the DJ plays a role that mimics that of a conductor in an orchestra. Similarly, they can orchestrate a room - elevate people, take them on a journey and pull them into sync. Each image is shaped to a different mood and final shots have been enlarged to mirror the reverence shown to idols. The images were shot using a large format camera, which requires the subjects to sit in almost statuesque stillness as the photographer composes and adjusts the camera. For many of the subjects this contradicts their native state - to be a physical manifestation of energy and motion. Having the DJs sit in this way contained their energy within a single shot - forcing a moment of stillness. This shot is a distillation of the synthesis achieved in peak moments of the rave, that moment when the DJ, the audience and the music meet in synchronicity. The rhythm, pace, beat and flow is then constructed through the sequencing and selection of images. ^ Left: Eben Rees - Founder of record label Haws Page over: Sam Jones - Founder & manager of Rotary Club Promotions
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TAROT
True personal growth lies in awareness of life’s lessons. Tarot are by no means the sole arbiter of meaning, but they are a great companion on a journey for someone with an open mind.
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Anna Goldberg
Tarot cards are a set of seventy-eight images. Twenty-two of which are known as Major Arcana and depict The Fool’s journey, a metaphor for the journey through life. The Fool is the universal symbol of awakening and the main character of the deck. She is the beginning and the end; present within every card. Sometimes cards will be skipped, sometimes The Fool will return to the same card repeatedly to learn the lesson it offers. We have all been there, we are all there now. Everyone is on a journey. Everyone is The Fool.
Instagram: @anya.goldberg
Archetypes are inborn tendencies that influence our lives through the psyche. In Jungian psychology, the archetypes represent universal patterns and images that are part of the collective unconscious - a component of mind which is inherited psychologically. It contains all the knowledge and experiences we share as a species.
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DRAG OUT OF CONTEXT Drag out of Context captures Drag performers out of their usual surroundings. Drag is often perceived as something that only belongs in an “acceptable” setting - they amuse us on TV and entertain us in clubs. In contrast, this body of work should show the viewer that Drag is more than that, it is a valid form of art.
Oli Robinson
Instagram: @oli.m.photo
Drag performers are called ‘artists’ for a reason and they should be viewed as such.
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UNSEEN
According to the mental health charity, Young Minds, “half of all mental health problems appear before the age of fourteen, with one in four enduring conditions present by the age of twenty-four.” The younger generation is hiding behind fear, building up walls so thick that the cycle of isolation perpetuates a harmful mind-set that is hard to escape. Although charities are fighting the stigmas and challenging the government to further fund mental health facilities— there is a struggle for young adults to reach out for professional help efficiently. These photographs signify a general atmosphere enveloping young people who struggle with mental health conditions. Consisting mainly of depression, anxiety and eating disorders, these photographs address states of self-hatred, melancholy, fatigue, anger and confusion, exhibited through the physical destruction of the images.
Adrianna Uryszek
Instagram: @smilershutterstudios
Additionally, Unseen is a response to and a reflection of our current political and social climate. The uncertainty around our present and future mimics the cycle of self-destruction and helplessness characterising our isolated polity.
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NATIVE
Alina Hibbert
Instagram: @hibbert98 Native is a project demonstrating and celebrating the significance of the wildflower in the United Kingdom. Composing these delicate organisms in different worlds (scans, studios and location shoots), and taking up the challenge of the pre-Raphaelite painters, with careful tableaus abundant in detail and intense colour; the work aims to align itself with both a mimesis of nature and suggestion of something other-worldly. Each one of these flowers has symbolic meaning, in equal importance they are part of an ecosystem in which each part plays a pivotal role to the survival of the whole. For example, the English bluebells are under threat by the Spanish bluebells and these crosspollinating into a hybrid species upsets the delicate balance of our wildlife-sustaining meadows. And that’s not to mention the place these flowers hold in our historical and contemporary imagination, which has enriched so much of our literature and visual culture.
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NEXUS
Alice Howard
Instagram: @alice_estrella
The sea is place of strong opposing emotion and affect; in which tranquillity and threat become one. The fascination, attraction and fear of the ocean appears timeless and global. For many, to immerse yourself in the sea is to eliminate stress and anxiety; yet the portent of danger and peril is ever present. Nexus explores the undying magnetism of the sea, and the different reasons people choose to submerge themselves within it. In images documenting both the calm and the aggressive ocean, this work highlights the unmerciful power of nature, and its ability to turn instantly from peaceful to terrifying.
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WASTE IN TIME
Waste in time is an environmental art piece addressing the long-term geological effects of plastic waste and mass consumption, utilising photography and two opposing metaphorical sculptural representations. They reflect on the contrasting philosophies for the future of waste management and the plastic crisis, echoing environmental debates of today between consumption, waste and fuel. Avoiding typical green campaigning it instead poses questions about the visual appearance of the landscape in years to come. By combining art practise with environmentalist motifs, the work engages aspects of the sublime and fossils within a museum to reflect on the past, and on extinction, contemplating what might remain after the Anthropocene. Images of plastic waste found on the beach have been engraved into the rocks, revealing the worst offending and most frequently found items. 50
Instagram: @denr_photo
Collectively, this piece reflects on a changing society and environment, using traditional artistic and museum forms to criticise contemporay issues and educate about the future. This project provokes deep thought about short and long-term solutions to the plastic epidemic, whilst simultaneously raising awareness about our naivety of the processes beyond the recycling bin.
Denise Recchia
Conversely there are precious gemstones providing a more hopeful view about the possible future protection of our natural resources. The contents of the gems are residual waste, unable to be recycled back into anything useable but prevented from entering landfill to be turned into RDF and SRF, becoming substitute fuels to coal and oil to provide greener energy, which is shown in the image of Atlantic recycling centre in Cardiff.
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Published by: University of South Wales BA (Hons) Photography University of South Wales (ATRium Building) 86-88 Adam Street Cardiff CF24 2FN Copyright: Š University Of South Wales, 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retreival system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publishers. The authors have asserted their rights to be identiďŹ ed as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988. ISBN: Printed by: Taylor Brothers, Bristol Published: June 2019 Creative Director: Becca Head Designer: Lewis Brymner Design Concept: Peter Bobby Editors: Becca Head Peter Bobby Text Editors: Kate Butcher Eleanor Davis Ruby Graham Jo Barton Eileen Little Translation: Becca Head Guest Writer: Emma Geliot Cover Image: Hannah Williams
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Guest Writer Biography Emma Geliot is an artist-turned-arts-administrator-turnedarts-journalist. She studied Fine Art at Cardiff School of Art & Design in the early 1980s. In 1987 she was asked to run the Cardiff Visual Arts Festival for the Association of Artists and Designers in Wales and, from there moved into a career that saw her running a sculpture park, a national public art commissioning programme for the National Cycle Network in Wales, an arts centre and a Wales-wide artist-in residence programme. In 2002, she joined the Arts Council of Wales as Senior Visual Arts Officer. After seven years, frustrated at the lack of critical writing about contemporary art in Wales, she retrained as a journalist, at Cardiff School of Journalism, and went on the be deputy editor of blown magazine. In 2013 she founded CCQ magazine, which she edited until 2018. As a freelance journalist and editor she has written for manypublications and platforms and is currently procrastinating her way towards a book.
Waves When it comes down to it, we bring our own baggage to art, align it to our own experience and activate it with our imagination. The images in this book, and in the exhibition it accompanies, are a portal to the synaptic connections in the viewer’s brain. Some pictures will feel familiar, tiny observations and details that we may have overlooked, brought to the fore, highlighted. Others will be less so, unless they are riding on the coattails of a bizarre dream, where reality is disturbed and only in slumber does the surreal make perfect sense. Before I’d even seen the images, the title of this book, Wave, had already begun to worm its way into my head, conjuring up half-remembered things, buried quotes, old news stories. Wave: A crashing breaker – the surfer’s dream – heads for the shore, where Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr roll in the surf in From Here to Eternity just before Pearl Harbour was bombed; the Severn Bore bowls down to the estuary, where wading birds scavenge for mud-locked molluscs; a crowd of thousands raise their hands in spontaneous sequence as a Mexican wave washes around a stadium, somewhere; a wave of anxiety, another of grief, another of nausea and one of relief. “Not waving but drowning”, wrote Stevie Smith; “Say hello, wave goodbye”, sung Soft Cell; “Izzy wizzy, let’s get busy”, said Mr Corbett for Sooty, as he waved his magic wand. But it was the black and orange cover of New Boots and Panties, by Ian Dury and The Blockheads that came to me first. Dury and a cocky young lad stare out defiantly and, on my copy, a warning sticker, “This is a New Wave record”. In 1977, following what felt like years and years and dull, dull years of middle-of-the road songs about yellow ribbons and missing mothers and prog rock and soft rock and rock that was tied to the same three chords, this was exciting, a challenge, a gauntlet thrown down for a teenager to pick up and runaway with.
And this year’s graduates are the new wave, the crashing breakers on the shore, foaming with ideas, scattering flotsam and jetsam on the shore of the exhibition space, or the pages of this book, for an audience to beachcomb, to fossick for meaning amongst the visual detritus of daily life. In these pages there are cool observations and affectionate looks: landscapes, people, architecture, viscera, ethereal skeins of plastic; the sea, the land, the people. Nostalgia nestles alongside fantasy; minute detail next to the bigger picture; techno alter egos and silent farm machinery; colour next to monochrome; moving images next to still ones; moving portraits of lives led next to characters lurking in the shadows, or mutating in a disturbed picture plane. Crash, crash, crash go the waves. Fizz, fizz, fizz goes the brain. One of these images might change your life, or your world view, or just simply prompt you to notice something beautiful in a world full of visual noise. When the waves recede, the images will remain and, as time goes by, evolve, develop, to create new ripples and wavelets for each individual photographer and the audiences that collect around them, like glistening barnacles on a salty rock in an ebbing tide, as the world braces itself for the next wave. Emma Geliot, 2019 Beneath us lie the lights of the herring fleet. The cliffs vanish. Rippling small, rippling grey, innumerable waves spread beneath us. I touch nothing. I see nothing. We may sink and settle on the waves. The sea will drum in my ears. The white petals will be darkened with sea water. They will float for a moment and then sink. Rolling me over the waves will shoulder me under. Everything falls in a tremendous shower, dissolving me. From The Waves, by Virginia Woolf.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO
OFFICIAL EXHIBITION AND PUBLICATION SPONSOR AND ALL GOFUNDME SUPPORTERS
THANKS ALSO TO:
Emma Geliot Taylor Brothers Ian Mountjoy Haydn Darke Alex Jenkins BayArt Maggie James Phil Nicol Rival Brewing Co. The DPJ Foundation Oliver Norcott Ben Absalom Marc Wilson Edd Fury Andy Lo Pò Bronwen Colquhoun Reginald Salisbury Travel Awards Act Reprographics Ltd Spike Island Production Services Atticus Digital Abbey Book Binding Bristol Bound Hello Blue Spectrum Antalis UK Kadri Otsiver Anwen Francis Daniel Thomas Peter Bobby Matt White Magali Nougarède Eileen Little Celia Jackson Laura Hynd Ian Wiblin Carol Hiles Ian Llewelyn Sarah Barnes Gawain Barnard Mark Griffiths Simon Cullen Charlotte Isherwood Andrew Walker Susan James Steven Wright Kris Francies Jeremy Crook Matthew Hunter Chris Pascos Angharad Evans
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LINES
Whether through choice or occurrence, blood is central to our existence, but what if our blood wasn’t our own? We believe through social conditioning that genetic heritage proves stronger than other experiences (nature vs nurture). Adoption stands as a process that can disprove that conception. An adoptee is able to gain a secure family, a sense of belonging and undergo something their forebears did not. This family, one of heterogeneous lineage, holds no biological attachment to one another. Yet they each share the same relations and the same validity;
Jo Barton
Instagram: @jobarton.photo
Though there is a disconnect in the bloodline, the connection remains.
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Over two generations, this South African interracially divided family and their involvement with transracial adoption, disability and immigration, are able to overcome circumstance where prejudice and the internal consciousness of society is questioned. Sharing their story, a reflective insight into their experience proves this premise. Providing commentary on political progressivism, the undertones of ethnicity and race, global affairs and subcultural polarity. As well as including subliminal ties to personal identity.
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DIFETHIAD GAN BLASTIG / MARRED BY PLASTIC Mae plastig yn rhad, yn ysgafn, ac yn dorieithog. Mae’n llenwi ein hoergelloedd, yn fframio ein sgriniau cyfrifiadurol disglair ac yn dal ein bwydydd pan nad oes gennym law rydd. O ganlyniad, mae plastig wedi dyfod yn broblem fyd-eang gyda chanlyniadau enbyd. Ar ôl i BBC Blue Planet II gael ei ddarlledu, mae lleihau gwastraff plastig wedi bod yn uchel ar agenda’r byd. Mae cwmnïau’n sylweddoli pa mor anferthol yw mater hwn ac yn dechrau brwydro yn ei herbyn. Bydd Starbucks, Hilton a Marriott UK yn amnewid gwellt plastig gyda phapur a gwellt plastig y gellir ei gompostio. Mae gweithredoedd y sefydliadau hyn yn gam ymlaen. Fodd bynnag, mae angen i ymddygiad pob un ohonom newid er mwyn gwneud unrhyw gynnydd parhaol. Mae’r gwaith hwn yn ymateb uniongyrchol i’r rhaglen ddogfen, gan ychwanegu at y drafodaeth trwy gipio’r goresgyniad presennol o blastig ar draws tirwedd Cymru. Yn ogystal â hyn, cafodd y bagiau plastig a nodwyd eu taflu yn yr union leoliadau yng nghefndir y llun, gan gyfleu’r gydberthynas uniongyrchol rhwng ein gweithredoedd a’r amgylchedd o’n cwmpas. Mae plastig yn gyffredin iawn yn ein bywydau nad oes modd ei anwybyddu. Gwelwn ganlyniadau hyn trwy dirwedd yn cael ei fygu gan sbwriel - gan ddifetha’r olygfa brydferth.
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This work is a direct response to the documentary, adding to the discussion by capturing the current invasion of plastic across the Welsh landscape. Moreover, the plastic bags featured were discarded in the exact locations situated in the background, conveying the direct correlation between our actions and the environment around us. Plastic is so prevalent in our lives that it cannot be ignored. We see the results of this through a landscape being suffocated with litter – spoiling the once picturesque view.
Daniel Thomas
After BBC’s airing of Blue Planet II, reducing plastic waste has been high on the world’s agenda. Companies are realising how monumental an issue this is and are starting to combat it. Starbucks, Hilton and Marriott UK will replace plastic straws with paper and compostable plastic straws. The actions of these institutions are a step forward. However, the behaviour of each and every one of us needs to change in order to make any lasting progress.
Instagram: @dan.m.thomas
Plastic is cheap, lightweight, and plentiful. It fills our fridges, frames our glowing computer screens and totes our groceries around when we lack a free hand. As a result, plastic has become a global problem with dire consequences.
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WITCH HUNT
Ruby Graham
Instagram: @rubygrahamphotography Fairy tales are the stories we pass from generation to generation; the primary place in which many learn good from bad. Yet behind the enchantment and romance of these tales, lurks a paradoxical horror and realism. Contrary to their Disney counterparts, the literary versions echo archaic societal beliefs in their unflinching depictions of violence and prejudice. Their raw brutality may seem like longpassed paradigms; yet the monsters and enemies of these tales highlight the darker aspects of the human psyche, in a purer fashion than many other genres. Witch Hunt is a study of the parallels between fairy tales and the contemporary treatment of women. The everchanging technology of modern life has allowed women to either feel empowered or yet more defenceless. When viewed from a 21st century perspective, the plight of female characters within fairy tales mirrors this anxiety, with the protagonists often facing grizzly endings. By accompanying images with fairy tale quotations, this project confronts the audience with predicaments eerily reminiscent of recent headlines. The landscapes appear both picturesque and frightening, highlighting the opposing duality of nature. This conflict points to the thematic contrasts of fairy tales, in their union of tranquillity and danger, reality and fantasy. Does the absurdity of these stories reflect immutable universal truths about humanity? Or does their timelessness instead reflect on our ability to distinguish right from wrong?
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You two will be turned into statues, But you will keep your senses beneath this stone that envelopes you Beauty and the beast by Jeanne Le Prince De Beaumont
Dance in your red shoes till you are pale and cold The red shoes by Hans Christian Andersen
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Envy and pride grew like weeds in her heart Snow white by Brothers Grimm
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Hannah Williams
RAW
Disgust is one of the hardest emotions to define. Charles Darwin expressed it as: “something revolting, primarily in relation to the sense of taste, as actually perceived or vividly imagined; and secondarily to anything which can cause a similar feeling, through the sense of smell, touch, and even of eyesight”. The Renaissance saw the beauty of the human body elevated to an aesthetic ideal, where artists began to express the beauty of the internal body. Society’s relationship with internal organs has drastically altered over time. Our fragility over our mortality means that we avoid this inner reflection, out of fear of illness and death. Influenced by forensic photography, RAW aims to question one’s relationship with their internal body. It demands an instinctive response, which can differ depending on the individual, causing a divisive reaction ranging from positive and negative. Why do individuals feel repulsed by certain subject matter? This work challenges the perception that we have of our organs by making them visible outside the body, confronting whatever feelings of discomfort or revulsion that might occur.
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THE SENEDD
Sam Sturt
Instagram: @swjsphotos
“God is in the details.” – Mies van der Rohe
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The Senedd documents the structural splendour of the Welsh National Assembly building, exploring what it means to be iconic within a city landscape. Emerging from a passion for architecture, this work aims to celebrate the beauty of the Senedd and the accomplishments of Wales. In merging the seemingly mundane qualities of the space with the fantastic, this project highlights the equal importance of grandeur and subtlety in architecture; encouraging the audience to admire the small details of their own surroundings. The focus on angle, structure and light mirror the formal qualities of paintings, likening this architecture to high art, a realm it occupies as surely as the quotidian and the majestic.
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Morgan Woodward
Instagram: @morganna_photography
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MAY CONTAIN PLASTIC Each year 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans, the equivalent to five shopping bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world. On average a person consumes 70,000 microplastics annually, in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the bottles we drink from. Referring to established modes of food photography, and employing a subtle visual strategy to create a public service announcement, this project makes visible this mountain of plastic we routinely consume. The plastics introduced are taken to the extreme, making the crisis visible and helping people understand the severity of this global problem. Many governments and organisations are already attempting to tackle the problem of plastic: the Norwegian government has a really successful deposit return scheme and the Marine Conservation Society and many other NGOs have been keeping our beaches clean, and been instrumental to the single-use plastic ban. The history and context of PSAs are the bedrock of this work, delivering on the shock of this crisis with a subtlety that makes clear individual responsibility. However, it absolutely needs the collaborative effort of all governments, corporations, communities and schools to organise people to making significant and meaningful change.
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Within a society that values stoicism and an emotional coldness in men, toxic masculinity is passed down from generation to generation. Adhering to cultural expectations keeps them from moving on, one part of the mind will remain stuck at stage one, trapped in a negative headspace whilst the public facade puts on a show of indifference. The Six is a project that looks to address and call out the idea that men must behave a certain way when they find themselves in an emotionally vulnerable position. This project looks to be a hand on their shoulder, reminding those who might be feeling this that it’s okay not to be okay.
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Llšr Tonge
The Six studies the six stages of grief associated with a breakup. Whilst this common enough occurrence is fairly universal, here it is told from a male perspective that draws on personal experience. The predetermined recipe of how to move on after a breakup includes rebounds and emotional coolness, ignoring the inner thought monologue, and the self-creation of an atmosphere susceptible to mental illness. Each stage of this journey remains as well as passes by, when the white-hot heat of the intensity fades these emotions may no longer be at the forefront of our minds but they are a part of us that can’t just be buried.
Instagram: @llyrtonge_photography
THE SIX
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CITY SHAPES These photographs are influenced by the architecture of Cardiff and London. By roaming these vastly differing places, City Shapes records the myriad of structure and pattern within their buildings.
Deacon Thomas
Instagram: @deacothomas
Architects go through so many ideas and sketches to come up with the final design, then it is up to builders to create their vision and follow every step instructed. This artwork is a brief showcase of the buildings that blend within the enormity of the city landscape.
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Cardiff is fairly small with only a few new tall buildings, with much of the architecture being Victorian. As it is rapidly growing, new and unique looking buildings and skyscrapers develop as more money gets invested in the city. This work highlights the uniformity of globalism, as cities begin to look more and more alike. Are these similarities a good thing? Or do they signify the extinction of the unique urban landscape?
CHWEDLAU /
Garmon Evans
Mae’r straeon a’r chwedlau hyn wedi bodoli ers cannoedd o flynyddoedd. Maent wedi cael eu hadrodd mewn llyfrau aneirif, yn aml yn cyd-fynd â thirnodau ffisegol sy’n gwella eu dilysrwydd a’u perthnasedd. Fodd bynnag, mae yna amheuaeth o hyd ynghylch y straeon hyn sydd wedi cael eu portreadu drwy’r delweddau yn y gyfres. Trwy adael ychydig iawn o olau drwy’r lens, mae pob lleoliad wedi’i orchuddio â thywyllwch yn debyg i’r amheuaeth honno. Mae sefydliadau fel CADW Cymru yn ymdrechu i warchod tirnodau Cymru; hebddynt byddai’r strwythurau’n diflannu ynghyd â’r straeon. Mae cynhaliaeth o’r strwythurau hyn yn caniatáu parhad straeon gwerinol. Nod y ffotograffau hyn yw ysgogi cyd-ddibyniaeth y stori i’r dirwedd. A grëwyd y straeon gan y tirnodau yma neu’r straeon wnaeth greu’r tirnodau?
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CHWEDLAU /
These stories and legends have been around for hundreds of years, recited in countless books, often coinciding with physical landmarks which enhance their authenticity and continued relevance. However, there is still a sense of doubt surrounding these tales which is portrayed through these images. By allowing a minimal amount of light through the lens, each location is shrouded in a darkness akin to that doubt. Organisations such as CADW Wales strive to conserve Welsh landmarks; without them the structures would vanish along with the telling of their stories. The maintenance of these structures permits the continuation of folkloric stories. These photographs aim to energise the interdependence of story to landscape. Were the places created by these stories or were the stories constructed from them? 86 86
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THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
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Sophie Lewis
Length: 00:07:02 Ratio: 720 x 576 / 25FPS Shot on: Canon 7DmkII
Instagram: @lewissophphotography
The younger generations have grown up consuming media which is saturated by violence—whether it be through news, TV dramas, video games or cinema. With the rise of gore horror in the early noughties, alongside the blood drenched films of directors such as Quentin Tarantino, it has become virtually impossible for young people to engage with modern visual culture without any inclusion of brutality. The Social Experiment is a short film exploring the beliefs of a desensitised youth in relation to cinematic violence. The film captures the candid reactions of different age groups when viewing overtly gory films. The intimate surroundings of each subject contrasts with the off-camera screams and blasts, creating a conflicting and unsettling atmosphere. The concern for many surrounding entertainments of this kind is copy-cat violence, yet studies shows the validity of these claims are virtually non-existent. The Social Experiment encourages audiences to analyse their personal relations to disturbing visuals and recognise the unconscious influence the media may have in our lives.
DATBLYGIAD PLENTYNDOD / CHANGING CHILDHOOD Tomas Vaughan
Instagram: @tomas.vaughan O genhedlaeth i genhedlaeth mae’r geiriau ‘Mae amseroedd wedi newid’ wedi cael eu hymadrodd, ac yn awr, nid yw ei berthnasedd erioed wedi bod yn fwy amlwg. Gyda datblygiadau mewn technoleg, newidiadau mewn gwerthoedd, a ffyrdd gwbl newydd o gyfathrebu, mae plant heddiw yn tyfu i fyny mewn byd cwbl wahanol. Mae plant heddiw yn archwilio’r byd trwy dechnoleg, ac er bod hyn yn gallu bod yn ddiddorol, nid yw plant yn cael profiadau fel y byddent wedi yn y gorffennol wrth redeg y tu allan, dringo coed a chrafu pengliniau. Wrth i dechnoleg datblygu, mae’r ffordd y caiff bywydau eu cofnodi hefyd yn newid. Nid ydym bellach yn dal gafael ar gopïau corfforol gwerthfawr o’n hatgofion, ond yn hytrach yn eu storio ar ein dyfeisiau. Mae’r prosiect hwn yn canolbwyntio ar gasglu atgofion plentyndod gan ddefnyddio tri fformat fideo gwahanol sef ar ffilm, yn ddigidol ac ar gamera gradd 360. Trwy’r darnau fideo gwahanol, mae’r gwaith hwn yn ailgreu’r syniadau o beth yw plentyndod, yn hytrach na’r hyn ydyw ar hyn o bryd. Wrth gynhyrchu canlyniadau gwrthgyferbyniol, mae Datblygiad Plentyndod yn cwestiynu’r ffyrdd yr ydym yn ystyried hiraeth.
Super8 Length: 00:02:46 Ratio: 4:3 / 18FPS Shot on: Canon 514XL 92
‘Times have changed’ is a phrase handed down from generation to generation, and now, its relevance has never been more apparent. With advances in technology, changes in values, and entirely new ways to communicate, children today are growing up in a totally different world. Children today are exploring the world through technology, and as interesting and brilliant that may be, they’re not experiencing childhood as they might have in times past: running outside, scraping their knees and climbing trees. With advancing technology, the way lives are recorded are also changing. We no longer hold onto precious physical copies of our memories, but instead store them on our devices. This project focuses on the capturing of childhood memories using three different video formats; film, digital and 360-degree recording. Through multiple moving image pieces, this work recreates the notions of what childhood used to be, instead of what it currently is. In producing contrasting outcomes, Changing Childhood questions the ways in which we view nostalgia.
Digital Length: 00:04:00 Ratio: 1920 x 1080 / 120FPS Shot on: Sony A6500
360 Length: 00:05:16 Ratio: 3840 x 1920 / 30FPS Shot on: GoPro Fusion
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TU HWNT I’R FFERM / BEYOND THE FARM
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Jessica Tennant Instagram: @jesstennant_photography “Mae tua un neu fwy o ffermwr yn y DU yn marw trwy hunanladdiad pob wythnos.” (ONS, 2018). I lawer ohonom, gall bywyd fferm ymddangos yn alwedigaeth heddychlon, ond yn aml mae yn y gwrthwyneb. Wedi’i leoli mewn ardaloedd gwledig o amgylch Penley yn Wrecsam, mae’r prosiect yma yn amlygu’r llu o anawsterau y mae ffermwyr yn eu hwynebu o ddydd i ddydd; o unigrwydd i faterion ariannol, iselder a hunanladdiad. Mae gan yr ardal hon gyfradd hunanladdiad uchel ymhlith y boblogaeth ffermio ond nid ffermwyr Wrecsam yn unig sy’n dioddef salwch meddwl, mae gan y byd amaethyddiaeth yn gyffredinol un o’r cyfraddau hunanladdiad uchaf yn y DU. Roedd y rhan fwyaf o’r bobl a gynhwyswyd yn y prosiect wedi adnabod o leiaf un ffermwr a oedd wedi cymryd ei fywyd gydag eraill wedi ceisio atal hunanladdiad trwy losgi rhaffau a thynnu gynnau oddi wrth eu teulu a’u ffermydd cyfagos. Mae mynd i’r afael â materion iechyd meddwl hefyd yn golygu mynd i’r afael â’r sefyllfa wleidyddol bresennol y mae cymuned ffermio’r DU yn ei hwynebu ar hyn o bryd. Mae ffermwyr yn wynebu dyfodol ansicr ar hyn o bryd. Faint o arian ychwanegol fydd ei angen i werthu nwyddau? A fyddant hyd yn oed yn gallu? Ar hyn o bryd mae llawer o gwestiynau heb eu hateb, sef dim ond un o’r rhesymau dros bryder enfawr, eang. Efallai nad yw afiechyd meddwl yn effeithio’n uniongyrchol ar y ffermwyr penodol hyn, ond maent yn cynrychioli’r sawl sydd. 97
“Approximately, more than one farmer a week in the UK dies by suicide.� (ONS, 2018). To many of us, farm life may seem a peaceful occupation, yet it is often the opposite. Based in rural areas around Penley in Wrexham, this project brings to light the many struggles that farmers face on a daily basis; from isolation to financial issues, depression and suicide. This area has a high suicide rate amongst the farming population. It’s not only the farmers of Wrexham that are suffering from mental ill health, the farming occupation as a whole has one of the highest suicide rates in the UK. Most of the people included in the project have known at least one farmer who has taken their life, others have attempted to prevent suicide by burning ropes and taking away guns from their family and neighbouring farms. Addressing the issues of mental health also means addressing the current political situation that the UK farming community is currently facing. Farmers are facing a current crisis of uncertainty, there is no clear guide of what is going to happen next or what their future holds. How much extra is it going to cost to sell goods? Will they even be able to? There are currently many unanswered questions, just one of the reasons for immense, widespread anxiety. These specific farmers may not be directly affected by mental illness, but they represent the many who are. 98
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SORETHUMB Fashion and identity are intrinsically linked through the choices we make about clothing and style. Expressing our identities to the world can be difficult to verbalise concisely, so style is a valuable method of selfexpression. However, there are stereotypes associated with certain styles which can provoke misconceptions, especially where gender is concerned. This project explores the foundation of fashion styling and identity through its placement on-site in a variety of locations, juxtaposing creative expressions against hard restrictions. Building sites are not generally a place for experimenting with style, which impose a strict uniform in compliance with health and safety regulations. Thus, this artwork’s wider symbolism is breaking free from set ideologies about representation and style. Based on personal experiences, the feeling of standing out against the crowd creates vulnerability, but also strength, in the expression of a true self against adversity. SORETHUMB is for those that don’t mind putting up with the pain of standing out, no matter how difficult. 102
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Instagram: @loadofshitee
Neurin Trace
QUOTE OUT OF CONTEXT Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can tear apart an individual and their memories. We store these precious connections but can often overlook their importance until the opportunity has been lost.
Photography frames the past to create the present. These images work within the context of Public Service Announcements to inform and engage the public in a conversation about Dementia and the importance of treasuring memory. Everyone has a story to be told, photography initiates the start to those stories. 106
Lauren Hornsby
It became apparent that the memories we appear to cherish the most are often spent with other people. This project evokes a variety of memories from the different individuals; however, their initial reactions and the theme of their responses were alike. It has been intriguing to discover that despite the differences in gender, age and life experiences, their answers and expressions were similar.
Instagram: @lhornsbyphotography
Quote Out of Context encouraged its participants to share their memories and explore the relationships they have with its concept. The work documents the process of this remembering, portraying the emotions and expressions associated with particular memories.
1. What is the first memory you can remember? 2. Over the last year, what has been your favourite memory? 3. Do you have a special item linked to a memory? If so, what is it and what is the memory associated with it? 4. What is your favourite childhood memory? 5. If you could re-live any memory you have, which one would you choose? 6. What memory do you not want to forget? 7. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you? 107
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BREATHE. /
Pwysau. Pobl. Cymdeithas. Rheda. Straen. Waliau. Ynghlwm. Drysau. Anadlwch. Dianc. Daliwch ati. Daliwch ati. Symud. Gadael. SŴN. Dianc. Rheda. Pryder. ANADLWCH.
Length: 00:04:28 Ratio: 1920 x 1080 / 25FPS Shot on: Canon 5DmkIII & Fujifilm X-T3 110
Imagine you’re sitting with a group of friends. Wedged in between them, their conversation gets louder and their laughs grow stronger, echoing in your ears. The room gets darker and smaller. Your palms sweating. Your heart beating. You can’t leave. You can’t breathe. BREATHE. is a portrait of a society. We are restricted by rules and borders, dictated by other people’s decisions. We work to a constant cycle, we’re born, we’re educated, we work, we die. We’re told to act a certain way, to dress a certain way, to work in a specific field. Reflecting this, the film begins and ends as clearly constructed. The viewer listens to the demands of the director and the discussions around how the subject should move next. The anxiety builds and the pressure increases. We often shut ourselves in and can’t find a way out. Through the universal language of dance, the narrative aims to reach any individual. The movements act as a response to the noise and a release from life’s restrictions. Performed by Gundija Zandersona
Instagram: @_beccahead
Mae BREATHE. yn bortread o gymdeithas. Rydym yn cael ein cyfyngu gan reolau a ffiniau, yn ymateb i benderfyniadau pobl eraill. Rydym yn gweithio i gylchred cyson, rydym yn cael ein geni, ein haddysgu, yn gweithio, ac yn marw. Mae’n rhaid i ni weithredu mewn ffordd benodol, i wisgo’n benodol, i weithio mewn maes penodol. Gan adlewyrchu hyn, mae’r ffilm yn dechrau ac yn gorffen fel lluniad. Mae’r gwyliwr yn gwrando ar ofynion y cyfarwyddwr a’r trafodaethau ynghylch sut y dylai’r perfformiwr symud nesaf. Mae’r pryder yn adeiladu ac mae’r pwysau’n cynyddu. Rydym yn aml yn cau ein hunain i mewn ac ni allwn ddod o hyd i ffordd allan. Trwy gyfrwng iaith gyffredinol dawns, bwraid y naratif yw cyrraedd unrhyw unigolyn. Mae’r symudiadau’n gweithredu fel ymateb i’r sŵn a rhyddhad o gyfyngiadau bywyd.
Pressure. People. Society. Run. Stress. Walls. Stuck. Doors. Breathe. Get out. Keep going. Keep going. Move. Leave. LOUD. Escape. Run. Anxiety. BREATHE.
Becca Head
Dychmygwch eich bod yn eistedd gyda grŵp o ffrindiau. Wedi’u lletemu rhyngddynt, mae eu sgwrs yn cynyddu ac mae eu chwerthin yn tyfu’n gryfach, gan adleisio yn eich clustiau. Mae’r ystafell yn mynd yn dywyll ac yn fach. Eich cledrau’n chwysu. Eich calon yn curo. Ni allwch adael. Ni allwch anadlu.
University of South Wales
BA Photography 2019