S U B S U R F A C E S U B S U R F A C E
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Ella MareahJenkinsAli
Jack Halford
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Megan Hill
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5Contents
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Introduction by Matt White
Joss Copeman
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Claire Farrell - 47 - 51 - 55 - 59 - 61 - 63 - 67 - 71 - 75 - 39 - 79
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Vojtěch Voves
Ffion CaitlinGarethLloyd-JonesWilliamsDavies
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Tamzin Ward
Amy ForewordMaisieMastersEvansby
Grace Leggett
Mair MarshallHollyJonesHolderEdwards
Rachel Saabor
Image: Joss Copeman
Alice BenjaminKseniiaFordeRusuSharp
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Matt White Uwch Ddarlithydd, BA Ffotograffiaeth
Mae’r cyflwr dynol yn cynnwys proses barhaus o greu lleoedd wrth i ni symud trwy gyfnodau cymhleth a chydblethol ein bywydau. Mae’r tair blynedd a dreulir yn astudio gradd yn aml yn gweithredu fel cyfnod allweddol mewn datblygiad personol a phroffesiynol, mewn ymgais i ddod o hyd i le ystyrlon yn y byd o’n cwmpas sy’n cyson esblygu. Gyda golwg ar hyn y gosodwyd brîff safle-benodol tair wythnos ar ddeg i fyfyrwyr BA Ffotograffiaeth ail flwyddyn PDC, i ymateb yn ofalus i’r safle.
Rhagymadrodd
WMae gan le hydred a lledred ym map bywyd person. Mae iddo amser a gofod, elfen bersonol ac elfen wleidyddol. Mae gan le haenau niferus a hanes a chof, hyd a lled a dyfnder. Mae’n ymwneud â chysylltiadau, yr hyn sydd o’i gwmpas, yr hyn a’i ffurfiodd, yr hyn a ddigwyddodd yno, yr hyn fydd yn digwydd yno.
- Lucy Lippard
Ymatebion unigol y myfyrwyr i agwedd ar afon Taf yw’r gwaith cyfoethog ac amrywiol a gynrychiolir gan y delweddau a’r geiriau yn y cyhoeddiad hwn. Drwy weithio gyda staff PDC a’r curadur, Claire Farrell, roedd y dasg heriol hon yn gofyn iddyn nhw ystyried y safle neu’r lle hwn mewn perthynas â’u diddordebau a’u dyheadau eu hunain, mewn modiwl sy’n ymdebygu i breswyliad artist proffesiynol. Ar ôl nodi man cychwyn priodol, cawson nhw eu hannog i esblygu prosiect drwy broses drylwyr o ymchwil weledol a chysyniadol wrth iddyn nhw ddechrau cadarnhau eu methodolegau a datblygu eu llais ffotograffig unigol.
Introduction
The rich and diverse work represented by the images and text in this publication are the students’ individual responses to an aspect of the River Taff. Working with USW staff and curator, Claire Farrell, this challenging proposition asked them to consider this site or place in relation to their own interests and aspirations in a module that echoes a professional artist residency. After identifying an appropriate starting point, they were encouraged to evolve a project through a thorough process of visual and conceptual research as they begin to solidify their working methodologies and develop their individual photographic voice.
Place is latitudinal and longitudinal within the map of a person’s life. It is temporal and spatial, personal and political. A layered location replete with human histories and memories, place has width as well as depth. It is about connections, what surrounds it, what formed it, what happened there, what will happen there.
Matt SeniorWhiteLecturer, BA Photography
- Lucy Lippard
The human condition involves a continual process of place-making as we move through the complex and intertwined phases of our lives. The three years of degree study often act as a pivotal moment of personal and professional development in the attempt to find a meaningful place in the constantly evolving world that surrounds us. It is with this in mind that the Second Year USW BA Photography students were set a thirteen week site-specific brief to carefully interrogate a given site.
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Fechan & Fawr Alice Forde
In this particular series of images I focused on Welsh folklore and ‘Gwragedd Annwn’ (Welsh fairies). Due to the unknown appearance of these beings, I was gifted the creative freedom to display my own interpretation of how I believe they would have been perceived. With the added bonus of the belief that the water acted as a gateway to undiscovered worlds, I was gifted the creative liberty of using the river as a prop rather than a location. This series features in a larger project that is finally presented in the format of a zine, a physical body of work that guides the viewer along the river as they turn each
Fechan & Fawr is a visual representation of my experience as a young woman in the modern world trying to figure out my relationship to a specific place: the River Taff. Through immersing myself into significant sociological and cultural locations along the river I was able to establish a relationship using the medium of fashion to discover my sense of ‘cynefin’. This phrase roughly translates from Welsh to meaning a sense of belonging to a certain place and feeling the weight of its history. As I embarked in the creative direction of this project I began to form my own sense of cynefin with the locations I had been researching, photographing and integrating myself into the communities of.
This body of work explores a story of Bella and the unfortunate events that led to her demise. This story is intended to uncover a new aspect of the Taff ’s history, a more human side. It links the series of unfortunate events with modern cases of substance consumption, religious and domestic abuse. This project aims to illustrate one of the myths using imagery of people who are connected to the River Taff and create a window into the past to be viewed from a 21st century perspective.
Kseniia Rusu
Folklore is the body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles to handmade toys common to the group. Bella of Taff is a story long forgotten, a story that was turned into one of the many myths that surround River Taff.
Bella of Taff
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MarshallSilence
Edwards
This project focuses on death associated with the River Taff, I have spent time researching murders, suicides, and accidents all involving the River Taff. Due to the variety of cases spanning up and down the River Taff from Cardiff to further up in the Brecon Beacons this project has allowed me to take my own journey through the River Taff. Meanwhile each photograph has constructed a new piece of mystery to the project and acted as another puzzle piece to the overall work.
The conclusion of this research is that The River Taff is associated with a lot of death. It lurks and stalks, silently waiting for its victims. Bodies are thrown in there to be erased from memory, people end their life in this river and some people are unfortunately taken away due to this river. I want to highlight the juxtaposition of the calm and peaceful façade to the pain and deceit lying beneath. It’s a classic example of beauty and pain.15
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Taking inspiration from science, Holly honed in on a phenomenon called Mycofiltration, referring to the prudent use of cultivated networks of fungal mycelium to facilitate and improve water quality in engineered ecosystems. The significance of this invisible, yet omnipresent resource is the way in which it acts as a key piece of infrastructure supporting our natural world. This piece of work aims to bring awareness to this pivotal organic resource which is so crucial to our way of living.
The Process of Mycofiltration
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Probing themes such as the human psyche, consumption and institutionalism, Holly Holder’s work takes on a more abstract and conceptual visual language centered around the abnormal and disregarded. Holly’s project, The Process of Mycofiltration, concentrates on the River Taff and embodies the natural underground and mycelium universe through the use of sculpture, paper-making and moving-image.
Holly Holder
Today the River Taff is a beautiful scenic landmark, often used for salmon fishing, sporting, and leisure, but this wasn’t always the case. During the Industrial Revolution South Wales became a booming mining empire, rich with coal running through its landscapes. There were over 600 mining sites situated around Wales and during the twentieth century the effects of the mining industry began taking its toll on the beautiful River Taff. Over 80,000 tonnes of unsaleable coal was dumped into the River Taff each year. The river became known as the “Black River”, the water so polluted by coal dust and waste that it became poisonous, unsuitable to sustain life and in the 1950s was biologically declared as dead. This project tells the story of how the beautiful, clear water of the River Taff became so polluted and lifeless.
BenjaminInfestationSharp
The Butterfly Project combines the sociological and ecological aspects of the River Taff. Focusing on butterflies specifically, this diverse species reflects the diverse population that inhabit the communities around the river. The sociological diversity is proven through the variety of religions, races, sexualities, gender identities, age. My interpretation of this link between diversities is visually represented through collaging a person with a different species of Welsh butterfly.
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Mair Jones
The Butterfly Project
Appreciation
Vojtěch Voves
The project Appreciation revolves around the Blackweir Bridge in Bute Park, Cardiff. The location itself is quite remarkable as at first glance you are consumed by nature; you wouldn’t even consider that you are only moments away from the urban core of Cardiff. I wanted to explore what draws people to this place over and over. After interacting with the local community I was able to form relationships through meaningful conversations that then allowed me to capture an intimate portrait.
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Blackweir is not just a piece of infrastructure; it’s a place where people go to relax, clear their minds and connect with nature all within walking distance of the busiest hub in Cardiff. This project displays the people who are truly aware of how special this location is and celebrates their appreciation in full.
Additionally, the work questions our internal ideas of acceptance and rebirth, framing this within a religious context. Taking inspiration from more documentary based practice, the work is a selection of artefacts and vernacular photography, allowing the body of work to act as a scientific report of sorts. There is a selection of clinical looking imagery juxtaposed against more aestheticised scenes which are manifested within a book, striking a successful equilibrium within the work.
Joss Copeman
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In Aquaphilia Artefacts, the work is centered around the map of Cardiff, where Joss has placed gay cruising locations along the River Taff, based around the concept of aquaphilia: a phenomenon associated with deriving pleasure from water based sexual acts. Throughout the project, Joss investigates this alongside his own identity, the semantics of colour and our consumerist custom as a society.
Joss Copeman’s work considers queer politics, notions of the self and consumption in postcapitalist society.
Aquaphilia Artefacts
Beneath The Taff
Jack Halford
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Shot on a 3D printed pinhole camera, using medium format film as well as a hand- made tripod, that was created from a rock found beneath the waters of the source of this project - Beneath The Taff explores the unseen stillness just below the surface of the fast flowing waters of River Taff.
To me rivers are like people; on the surface we are persistently moving in one direction, constantly rushing to and from trying to get to the next ‘big’ thing. Whether that be in life or in a simple day we never fully stop and breathe to notice the small things in life. Rivers are only fuelled by the need to keep moving forward.
However, just below them - beneath the river - are the things they miss, the beauty of the unknown, the ‘little’ things that if we just stopped and took a breath we would notice. It may bring joy, it may bring sadness, but not giving ourselves that chance to stop means we will never know. We will spend our lives living for the next ‘big’ things and missing all the ‘little’ things along the way.
Modern Fossils
Modern Fossils investigates the ecological elements of the River Taff and the consequences that artificial objects have on the natural habitat. When looking at the submerged river you can discover the abundance of preserved artificial objects that lie undetected under the current. They act as a vibrant visual history guide for the stories that go untold, many having travelled miles down the river from their original foundation.
What’s most intriguing is that these objects become so embedded into the wildlife that they eventually become immovable and brutally settle themselves into the delicate habitat. My aim is to capture this juxtaposition of manmade and natural, demonstrating how they can unusually blend into each other and compliment the other’s journey through the River Taff ’s history.
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Megan Hill
Drwy ffotograffiaeth ddychmygus, trowyd sbwriel yn gynhyrchion, trowyd deunyddiau o’r glannau’n emwaith resin, a throwyd gwrthrychau y daethpwyd o hyd iddyn nhw ar, ger, ac o dan y dŵr yn bethau arallfydol, yn safleoedd troseddau fforensig dychmygol ac yn ffosileiddiadau trosiadol. Archwiliwyd ein perthynas a’n cysylltiadau dwfn â dŵr o sawl safbwynt cymhleth ac emosiynol gan ddechrau gyda’r syniad o berthyn cynhenid drwy enedigaeth, marwolaeth ac ailenedigaeth. Mae’r afon fel profiad yn ofod diogel synhwyraidd, yn lle ar gyfer antur, chwilfrydedd, hedoniaeth ddyfrllyd a defodau’r glasoed. Mae’n fan lle bu aneddiadau hynafol, lle cafodd llwythau eu ffurfio, lle mae mythau a chwedlau’n cael eu portreadu gan lên gwerin y gorffennol a chlybiau rygbi glan afon presennol. Defnyddiwyd cysyniad y ‘Bydysawd Mycelaidd’ fel porth i gynnal archwiliadau gwyddonol i ddysgu gan seilwaith natur ac astudio potensial harneisio pŵer dŵr i greu trydan ac fe helpodd hyn ni i ailgysylltu ac ailddarganfod y dirwedd naturiol mewn ff yrdd a allai fod o gymorth i ddyfodol y ddynol ryw.
Cafodd perthyn i gymuned, undod, grymuso ac
Mae prosiectau a phreswylfeydd WERK yn benodol i safleoedd a chyd-destunau penodol. Wedi’u hysbrydoli gan waith yr Artist Placement Group (APG) a Situationist International (SI), dyfeisir preswylfeydd gan artistiaid i greu cyfleoedd unigryw i artistiaid greu gwaith a/ neu archwilio cyd-destunau cynllunio trefol, rhyngddisgyblaethol, hanes cymdeithasol, diwylliannol, anthropoddaearyddol a threftadaeth. Fel Cyfarwyddwr a Churadur gyda WERK rwyf wedi bod yn ddigon ffodus i
gael profiad uniongyrchol o ystod amrywiol o ddehongliadau artistig a safbwyntiau cysyniadol ac athronyddol diddorol mewn ystod o feysydd, ac wedi cael cyfle i weithio gyda, a chael fy ysbrydoli gan, gannoedd o artistiaid o’r DU a gweddill y byd mewn gwahanol gyfnodau o’u gyrfaoedd.
Mae’r cwestiynau hyn yn greiddiol i’r dyniaethau wrth drafod neu ymateb i’r syniad o le neu safle penodol, a nhw oedd ein man cychwyn wrth i ni ddechrau ar brosiect Afon Taf gyda’n gilydd. Mae deall lle yn ganolog i ddisgyblaethau ecoleg, cynllunio a phensaernïaeth. Mae daearyddwyr wedi defnyddio’r astudiaeth o le i ddylanwadu ar eu hagwedd at y ffordd mae gan leoedd bobl yn byw ynddyn nhw, y profiad maen nhw’n ei greu, a’r ff yrdd y gallen nhw ddatblygu yn y dyfodol. Mae athronwyr yn ceisio datod, dod o hyd i ystyr, a dysgu, gan haenau cymhleth a chudd y byd, a’r tu hwnt, sy’n ein hamgylchynu. Mae edrych ar yr elfennau sy’n gwahanu lleoedd yn ddull sy’n archwilio’r unigolyn a’r gymuned ar yr un pryd; yn diffinio’r hyn sy’n bodoli yn eich realiti chi, sut rydych chi’n ei weld a’i brofi, a sut mae’r bobl sydd yn y gofod yn ei brofi neu’n ei ddefnyddio.
Mae genius-loci yn egwyddor bensaernïol ddiffiniol sy’n rhagflaenu’r cysyniad cyfoes o ‘greu lleoedd’ a dyma oedd ysbryd amddiff ynnol lle mewn crefydd Rufeinig glasurol. Mae hefyd yn un o egwyddorion cytûn pensaernïaeth y dylai dyluniadau tirluniau, adeiladau a chynlluniau trefol ymateb bob amser i’r cyd-destun y maen nhw wedi’u lleoli ynddo. Mae gan bob lle ei nodweddion unigryw ei hun, nid yn unig o ran ei wneuthuriad ffisegol, ond hefyd o ran ei ffenomenoleg; sut mae’n cael ei weld a’i brofi. Felly, dylai fod yn gyfrifoldeb ar bensaer neu ddylunydd tirlun (er nad yw’n digwydd bob tro o bell ffordd) i fod yn sensitif ac yn ymatebol i’r nodweddion unigryw hynny, eu pwysleisio, eu datgelu neu eu dathlu.
Y ddwy egwyddor bwysicaf a drafodais yn gynnar gyda’r myfyrwyr wrth gychwyn ar y briff hwn, dwy egwyddor sy’n eu croes-ddweud ei gilydd i raddau, oedd sicrhau eu bod ar un llaw yn neilltuo amser a gofod i archwilio pethau ymylol, tra’n adfyfyrio’n barhaus ar y llaw arall ar y berthynas rhwng eu gwaith a’r safle. Roeddwn yn ffodus i weld hyder y myfyrwyr fel ymarferwyr ffotograffiaeth yn tyfu wrth iddyn nhw atgyfnerthu eu cyfeiriad artistig, eu dylanwadau a’u hymarfer amlddisgyblaethol gydol y prosiect hwn. Roedd y portffolio eang yn cynnwys materion a themâu byd-eang cyson yn ymwneud â diwydiant, llygredd, gwleidyddiaeth a chyfalafiaeth a’u heffaith ddinistriol yn y gorffennol a’r presennol ar ein hamgylchedd economaidd gymdeithasol ni i gyd, a’r hinsawdd.
Creu Ystyr
Beth yw bod yn benodol i safle? Pryd mae gofod yn troi’n lle?
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Ymatebodd y myfyrwyr yn gadarnhaol i’r ymarferwyr hyn wrth iddyn nhw ddatblygu eu prosiectau unigol drwy ymchwilio ac arbrofi a chreu synergedd o fethodolegau cysyniadol a gweledol. Mae’r ymatebion amrywiol, ystyriol, personol, athronyddol a deallus yn dangos potensial anhygoel meddylwyr creadigol y dyfodol, a hynny yma mewn un garfan yn unig. Ymatebon nhw’n hynod gadarnhaol i frîff cysyniadol a oedd yn gymhathiad clyfar o ymagwedd arloesol a chreadigol tuag at ymarfer proffesiynol a fydd i’w ddisgwyl yn y dyfodol.
Claire Curadur,Farrell,Cyfarwyddwr Artistig WERK
Adlewyrchwyd dylanwadwyr o ystod eang o fethodolegau drwy gydol y broses, o safbwynt cysyniadol i safbwynt seiliedig ar brofiad, o safbwynt naratif hanesyddol i ddulliau dogfennol mwy gweledol. Mae’r rhain yn cynnwys Simon Starling, Lee Friedlander, Laura Calon, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Andreas Müller-Pohl, Erin Madigan Heck, Richard Long, Mustafah Abdulaziz, Sophy Rickett ac eraill.
ynysu cymdeithasol eu harchwilio drwy drosiadau ffotograffig lle cafodd coed a gwrthrychau eu rhoi yn y blaendir, gan darfu ar y golygfeydd y tu ôl iddyn nhw, fel symbol o’r ffordd mae cymunedau byddar yn cael profiad gwahanol o’r byd. Mewn mannau daeth ystyriaethau cymdeithasol i’r amlwg yn reddfol drwy ymdrechion i bortreadu pam mae’r afon mor bwysig i gydlyniad a lles cymunedol.
These questions are embedded across the humanities when approaching or responding to the notion of place or site specificity, and they were our starting point as we began the River Taff project together. Understanding place is central to ecological, planning and architectural disciplines. Geographers have used the study of place to influence their thinking about the way that places are inhabited, experienced and might evolve in the future. Philosophers seek to unravel, find meaning, and learn from the complex and hidden layers of the world and beyond that surrounds us. Looking at the elements that separate distinct places is a simultaneous approach in exploring individuality and community; defining what exists in your reality, how you perceive and experience it, and how the people that inhabit the space experience or use it.
Stylised photography transformed litter into products, bankside materials into resin jewellery, and objects found above, beside and beneath the water into ethereal worlds, imagined forensic crime scenes and metaphorical fossilisation. The exploration of our relationship and deep connections to water were explored from multiple complex and emotive perspectives beginning with innate belonging through birth, death and rebirth. The river as an experience is a sensory safe space, a place for adventure, curiosity, aquaphilic hedonism and adolescent rites of passage, it is a place of ancient settlements, tribe formation, myths and legends portrayed through past folklore and present day riverside rugby clubs. A scientific exploration of consumption employed the ‘Mycelium Universe’ as a portal to learn from nature’s infrastructure and a study into the potential of hydropower to harness the power of water to create electricity helped us to reconnect and rediscover the natural landscape in ways that could support the future of humanity.
Community belonging, unification, empowerment and social isolation were explored through photographic metaphors where trees and objects were foregrounded to obscure views symbolising the everyday distortion of the
The two most important yet slightly contradictory principles I discussed early on with the students when approaching this brief were to ensure that they self-imposed time and space to explore tangents, whilst continually reflecting on the relationship between their work and the site. I was fortunate to observe the students grow in confidence as emerging photography practitioners consolidating their artistic direction, influences and multidisciplinarity throughout this project. The wide-ranging portfolio included recurring global issues and themes around industry, pollution, politics and capitalism and their destructive past and present impact to our collective socio economic future environment, and climate.
WERK projects and residencies are site and context specific. Inspired by the work of Artist Placement Group (APG) and Situationist International (SI), artist residencies are devised to create unique opportunities for artists to make work and or explore urban planning, interdisciplinarity, social history, cultural, anthropogeography and heritage contexts. As Director and Curator of WERK I have been fortunate to experience firsthand a diverse range of artistic interpretations and interesting conceptual and philosophical
The Production of Meaning
What is site specificity? When does space become a place?
views across a range of fields, and have had the opportunity to work with, and be inspired by, hundreds of UK and internationally based artists at different stages of their careers.
Genius-loci is a defining architectural principle that predates modern day ‘place-making’ and in classical Roman religion was the protective spirit of a place. It is also one of the most widely agreed principles of architecture which is that landscape, building and urban planning designs should always be responsive to the context in which they are located. Every place has its own unique qualities, not only in terms of its physical makeup, but also of its phenomenology; how it is perceived and experienced. So it ought to be (but far too often is not) the responsibilities of the architect or landscapedesigner to be sensitive and responsive to those unique qualities, to amplify, reveal or celebrate.
Influencers from a wide range of methodologies were referenced throughout the process, form a conceptual standpoint to an experiential one, from a narrative and historical position to a documentary or more visually driven approach. These include Simon Starling, Lee Friedlander, Laura Zalong, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Andreas MüllerPohl, Erik Madigan Heck, Richard Long, Mustafah Abdulaziz, Sophy Rickett to name but a few.
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Claire Curator,Farrell,Artistic Director WERK
The students responded positively to these practitioners as they developed their individual projects through research and experimentation towards a synergy of conceptual and visual methodologies. The diverse, considered, personal, philosophical and intelligent responses demonstrate the incredible potential of our future generation of creative thinkers in just one cohort. They reacted so positively to a conceptual brief that was a clever assimilation of the innovative and creative approach to professional practice that will be expected in the future.
world experienced by deaf communities, elsewhere socially engaged practice instinctively emerged through emotive portraiture that attempted to unpick why the river was so important to community cohesion and wellbeing.
Afon Gudd — which roughly translates to ‘obscured river’ in English — is a collection of twenty two 5”x 8” prints that have been physically manipulated to represent the death of the River Taff in the 1950’s. I was intrigued by the humanistic impact on the river, such as pollution and industrialisation, as the river ran through some of the biggest mining communities in South Wales.
Afon Gudd Tamzin Ward
Through using a variety of dark room techniques such as overlaying negatives, moving film during the exposure process and using litter from the river to obscure simple images I was able to show how litter and waste obscure the river’s landscape. I scanned these images in the darkroom and selected different sections of them, looking at areas where the litter obscured key aspects of the landscape underneath and changed how the initial base image appeared.
My project uses images of the River Taff that depict the difficulties of viewing an image whilst a visual barrier obscures the majority of the frame; this barrier causes an overall hinderance to interpreting the image and acts as a visual representation of the difficulties a deaf person experiences in the hearing world. You get the picture, but perhaps not the whole picture.
Just Go with a Flow... Mareah Ali
Being deaf is a major part of my identity and therefore plays a key role in my day-to-day life. But being a hard of hearing person in a hearing world is far more demanding than many would expect. To understand verbal communication is already a task, but with the addition of physical barriers that cover lips and background noises it becomes an even greater challenge to understand what is being said.
The overall objective of this project is to visualise the limitations of gathering information when an
obstacle is in the frame and try to understand the ‘bigger picture’.
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Maisie Evans
Hidden Non-places
These hidden non-places around the River Taff can be a place that people seek as refuge due to their isolated nature. This project acts as a visual representation of a person’s mindset—when they feel uncomfortable, anxious and insecure in any circumstance. Often people find comfort in nature, such as going on walks in the park, which is reflected through the coloured imagery of the river. The vibrant hues of the river are juxtaposed against the monochrome photographs that focus on the shadows and intense textures. They create a visual contrast between what the person is feeling, how they feel when they are in nature, and its calming effect on them.
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From before we exist in this world we are surrounded by water, protected by it. And then we’re here, and we are still surrounded by it, connected from before we are even born until the day we die. It’s only natural for us to feel so close to it and yet I wonder why still. My current work titled Heartbeat of the River acts as a bridge between the artistic and scientific world.
Heartbeat of the River
Water is the first sound you hear in the womb, second to your Mother’s heartbeat.
Ella Jenkins
It is a physical manifestation of what cannot be seen. Through the use of audio recording and laser printing, I have reconstructed the river Taff visually through printing the soundwave graphs of river recordings into acrylic. Shown alongside prints of my own heartbeat recorded whilst listening to the recordings, this project aims to create an interactive visual experience of the research conducted surrounding the question why are we so drawn to nature?
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Fun Times Caitlin Davies
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Fun Times looks at a location situated in Bute Park on the bank of the River Taff that is known by my friends and I as the Fun Times spot. Looking directly at the compassionate relationship formed between the local community and the water itself, my project uses visual techniques to entice nostalgia for our care-free adolescent selves. The project nods towards how humans have interacted with the river throughout history, especially in its infrastructure which is represented through handmade stone formations in the work.
Lland and Taff come together, Lland is an enclosed space, Taff meaning the river itself.
Rugby clubs are like no other, a buzz in the air after a match, a chat and food in a place where casual discussion can be continued. These places claim their inclusivity but look as if they kick any outsider to the dirt. Unaware of these community’s inner workings, we are unable to comprehend the social dynamics until penetrating the inner circle ourselves. Today, we have a closer relationship with our teams; we understand them in a more intimate way than the media would represent them as.
Grace Leggett
Open/All Welcome
When this is replicated in a local club there is a stronger connection to sports fans and locals — fans and spectators become merged having abundant access to a digital and personal relationship. But a clubhouse is more than just rugby, it offers a safe haven for different social events to come together and create an all-inclusive micro community. So why then do the subtle undertones of hostility highlight the exclusivity of a club that claims to be Open/All Welcome?
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Amy Masters
For this project I have looked at the River Taff, and within this, I am looking at how man-made objects can control what we want within the landscape. The idea of this came to light from seeing how each side of the Barrage in Cardiff Bay has two completely different looks to it. On one side is the freshwater lake constantly looking calm and then the other side, at times, looking fierce and being noisy. In this work, I will be focusing more on the side of the barrage which shows the fiercer side.
How Man-Made Objects Control the Landscape
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Delivering The Dream
Gareth Williams
My project investigates the transformation of the old ‘Tiger Bay’ into the new Cardiff Bay. Through using authentic dock features that are now displayed as touristic scene setters to withhold a shallow layer of originality, the ethics of Cardiff’s gentrification can begin to be disputed. The topic of how funding has been delegated in the regeneration of some iconic buildings is also brought into light, with auspicious buildings now in a state of disrepair and left to rot. Neighbourhoods that once were the beating heart of the docks have now been lost in the shadows of the capitalist giants that keep business and tourism as their only concerns.
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This project provides photographs of the memories and history of the iron works that were once the pride and joy of Merthyr Tydfil.
This work is a compiled collection of photographs taken of the Cyfarthfa iron works in Merthyr Tydfil. Once known as the provider of iron for the world, it has now been left as crumbling remains around the town. With so much important history, I wanted to create a piece of work that truly captures the iron works as it once was and gives you an insight into what an iron worker would have seen.
The Town Of Iron Ffion Lloyd - Jones
This series takes you on a journey around where the works would have been, following alongside it, the River Taff. The images provide you with an understanding of how big the iron works had been and how the key workers of the iron works would have lived.
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Ynni Glân Rachel Saabor
Rachel Saabor’s ynni glân seeks to explore the consequences that have come as a result of the ecological progression that the River Taff has made in the last 35 years. In this work Saabor questions the balance between the benefits of ecological progression and its sociological drawbacks. Through looking at ex-mining communities along the River Taff, she investigates how the comradery that once thrived has been affected through the closing of the South Wales mines and how the history of a generation is beginning to be lost and overlooked.
In this piece of work she features the poetry and imagery of ex-colliers themselves with unorthodox interactive techniques in an attempt to ignite questioning within the viewer. Inspired by the relationships built over time with colliers through countless conversations, she is proud to have created a piece of work that visualises the consequential weight of ecological change.
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Take a portrait of a collier, and delve deep into his Asoulman who made a living in the dark, digging for coal Sweat dripping down his back, working on his knees Hot as Hell, deep below the ground of the colliery
The Portrait
A sound that is hard to believe His Dai capp pulled to one side Leaving a shadow on the blue marks, that he can’t hide
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By Ralph Jones
His chest crackling in a rasping wheeze
Breathing foul air, deprived of sunshine
A face old, before its time Blackened under the eyes, after a shift in the coal Afacetrace of blue marks on his face
Take a long look at a collier’s face And imagine being in his place Out of bed before the crack of dawn And coming home when the sun is gone
Maybe a story of comrades lost Where the widows are left to count the cost
whose names are recorded in accident books
Men, who worked under a life destroying black dusty Men,cloud who worked their way into an early shroud
But if you catch a collier in a sun-kissed haze
A portrait of a collier could be their saving grace
A man who has visited the Devil’s back yard Paid the price and walked away, a face lived in and hard
The marks that are the trademark of his trade Marks that in time won’t fade Blue, that come in all shapes and size That to other colliers are no surprise
There’s a warmth and sincerity in his eyes Look into those eyes, you may want to cry They say behind the eyes, there is a story to be told A story of horrors untold
Men, who the management think don’t deserve a second look
Men who have been lost to rock falls Good men whose names the mine owners cannot Men,recall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the
Thepublishers.authors
Cedwir pob hawl. Ni chaniateir atgynhyrchu unrhyw ran o’r cyhoeddiad hwn, na’i storio mewn system adalw, na’i drosglwyddo ar unrhyw ffurf neu drwy unrhyw fodd heb ganiatâdys grifenedig gan y cyhoeddwyr.
Stamp Design / Stamp Dylunio: Kseniia TranslationRusu/ Cyfieithydd: Cris PublishedDafis
We would like to thank everybody who has supported this project / Hoffem ddiolch i bawb sydd wedi cefnogi’r prosiect hwn.
Designers / Dylunwyr: Jack Halford, Alice Forde, Grace Leggett, Rachel GuestSaaborWriter / Awdur Gwadd: Claire JackEditorsFarrell/Golygyddion:Halford,AliceForde, Grace Leggett, Rachel Saabor, Matt White, Peter Bobby
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Printed by / Argraff wyd gan: Mixam, Watford
Published / Cyhoeddwyd: September 2022 / Medi 2022
Copyright2FN
in an edition of / Cyhoeddwyd mewn argraffiad o: ISBN200 978-1-909838-62-8
BA (Hons) Photography / BA (Anrh) Ffotograffiaeth University Of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru 86-88 Adam Street / 86-88 Stryd Adam Cardiff / Caerdydd CF24
Published by / Cyhoeddwyd gan: University Of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru
Text Editors / Golygyddion Testun: Eilleen Little, Rachel Saabor
/ Hawlfraint: © University Of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru, 2022
have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988.
Mae’r awduron wedi datgan eu hawliau i gael eu nodi felawduron y gwaith hwn yn unol â Deddf Hawlfraint, Dyluniadau a Phatentau 1988.
