RHODRI OWEN: I’R BYW
Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay
Until Sat 22 Sept
After being involved with the 2017 Anglesey Eisteddfod in designing the Black Chair, which is used to award the winner of the poetry competition, Rhodri Owen now brings this touring exhibition to Cardiff. The theme for last year’s Eisteddfod was “moving forward while recognising the past”, indicating both factors act as key influencers and inspiration for his work. Welsh heritage and culture is likely to also be a central theme in the form of language and symbolisms.
I’r Byw, is about looking to the future: what’s the point in being stuck in the past when there is excitement ahead of us? Simple wooden furniture pieces were handcrafted before being distributed to groups across Wales, each in varying locations and from different backgrounds. Funded by Arts Council Of Wales and the Makers Guild In Wales, and led by guest artists, this furniture was ‘changed’ with various techniques, including simply weaving ropes into the chair back, or going to the extreme of setting it on fire.
The furniture presents us, our journeys and our lives. Marked, gouged, or painted, it reflects how our experiences in life, our heritage and environment, permanently (and visibly) mark us all, embracing the meaning of i’r byw: to live.
Admission: free. Info: 029 2048 4611 / www.makersguildinwales.org.uk Amy Ludford