ANTHONY RHYS – NOTORIOUS: THE DARK SIDE OF VICTORIAN CARMARTHEN
Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen
Until Sat 12 Mar
Imagine if the only thing about you that survived time was the worst thing you ever did.
The life of the poor, the drunk, and the cruel, captured and kept alive forever while the other parts of their lives disappeared.
Notorious is an exhibition of portraits of criminals identified from the historical Felon’s Register and other historical sources in Carmarthen. Carmarthen was a rough and tough old town. Back in the day, sailors, drunks, and prostitutes would fight police officers in the streets and lanes. Often overseen by corrupt and intimidated officials, the gaols and courts were full of victims and perpetrators of heavy Friday nights. Dark and reckless were the actions of many inhabitants of old Carmarthen.
Anthony Rhys has recreated the lives of these people with his paintings. Their histories now expanded past the official reports showing the hidden lives and explicit stories. In his portraits Anthony has captured the criminals fleeting moments of true feeling; whether that is despair, frustration or fear.
The exhibition will run until 12 March 2016 at Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen, and shows that things back then may not have been so different after all. Here’s looking at you St Mary Street during the Six Nations.
Admission: free. Info: 01267222775 / www.orielmyrddingallery.co.uk
words MONICA MARTIN