ANNA FALCINI: IN BETWEEN THE FOLDS ARE PARTICLES
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Mon 16 Mar-Mon 11 May
This is an opportunity to experience a modern take on the work of distinguished Welsh artist Gwen John, known for her self-portraits, paintings of quiet domestic interiors and of other women. Visual artist Anna Falcini was influenced by archival material, letters and diary entries from the National Library of Wales. In her artwork, she incorporates various mediums – film, sound, text and photography – to draw together her own contemporary responses to John’s life and art, with a century between their lives.
At the centre of this exhibition is a 32-minute film entitled Chère Julie, in which Falcini traces John’s footsteps across the most significant places of her life: Paris, Meudon, Dieppe and Tenby. Born in 1876 in Haverfordwest, John moved to Paris in 1903, where she began a decade-long affair with sculptor Auguste Rodin, best known for The Thinker.
The tones, colours, and overall look of the film, as well as the works throughout the exhibition, refer and respond to John’s own artistic aesthetic. Though the film is initially an attempt to delve into John’s ‘interior’ life, it becomes an exploration of “the slippery nature” of seeking out half-forgotten pasts, and how Falcini’s pursuit reveals as much about herself as it does about John.
Admission: free. Info: 01970 621903 / www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk (LM)