Art Across The City

24

SOUTH WALES EVENING POST

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009

visit our website www.thisisswansea.co.uk

Man fell ART ACROSS THE CITY: against car after Sinister theme is medication fun at playground A MAN disorientated by medication fell against a car and scratched the paintwork, Swansea magistrates were told. Edward Jones had gone to Morriston Hospital complaining of chest pains. After receiving medication including painkillers he left the hospital and tried to find his way home. At 8.30pm on March 28, he was knocking on the door of a house in Clos Waun Wen, Morriston, prosecutor Julie Sullivan told the court. Jones asked householder Mark Bland for directions to a particular address. He was incoherent and Mr Bland told him he was unable to help him before closing the door.

Leaning A short time later he looked out to see Jones leaning against his wife’s car. After Jones moved off, Mr Bland went out to check on the car. He discovered two scratches a foot long. Police were alerted and they found Jones lying a pavement with cuts to his face and hands. The 44-year-old, of Elan Avenue, Clase, admitted causing damage. His solicitor, Paul Warren, said he had left hospital in a disorientated state and had difficulty finding his way home. Jones was ordered to pay £100 in compensation and £80 in fine and victim surcharge.

AM’s plea to re-open post offices ASSEMBLY member for South West Wales, Alun Cairns, is backing a campaign to re-open post offices. He plans to contact Swansea, Neath Part Talbot and Bridgend councils to urge them to re-open their branches. This follows a scheme in Essex where the county council has managed to re-open five of their branches after the closures had an adverse effect on their community. Mr Cairns said: “The Post Office network was an invaluable asset to the country and it’s shameful that the government has undermined it by taking away so many things like the sale of TV licences.”

Firms’ chance to raise issues BUSINESSES on Swansea’s Enterprise Zone will have the opportunity to raise any local issues at a Pact meeting next week. The meeting starts at 1pm on Monday, April 20, in the Ramada Jarvis Hotel on Phoenix Way.

MARKO Maetamm has created “a chaotic playground” next to the leisure centre. His “playground of nightmares” aims to combine the different aspects of Swansea, from the nightlife to the revamp of the city — he took all his different views of the city in the form of a playground, and put them behind a steel fence. If it sounds like something from a horror film, it’s meant to — he wants it to look sinister and apocalyptic. It will be on the green at the National Waterfront Museum in Oystermouth Road.

European twist for Dylan’s city

Twelve sites of weird and

visit our website www.thisisswansea.co.uk

SOUTH WALES EVENING POST

Open day advice on computing Graphic posters to show off city scenes courses

Art makes some noise to reach a wider audience

GALWAY girl Aisling O’Beirn will bring her multi-imaged graphic posters to Swansea as part of the exhibition. Her work is set to be displayed across the city at a number of different locations around the marina on billboards. In the exhibition, she tries

Hot footing it to Marina sculpture

Capturing power of ocean indoors A SWIRLING sea, howling wind, a dramatic crescendo of music — sound pretty accurate for a video of storm? Probably. Sound like an afternoon at the Leisure Centre? Probably not. Tanya Axford’s exhibit, There is Nothing Left of the Sea but its Sound, was actually filmed in the leisure centre and is meant to illustrate the regeneration and re-illustration of the site. Axford’s exhibition will be shown at the National Waterfront Museum Square.

For more —see page 29

Wednesday, April 22........................ Saturday, April 25 ............................ Monday, April 27.............................. Wednesday, April 29........................ Saturday, May 2............................... Wednesday, May 6 .......................... Saturday, May 9............................... Sunday, May 10...............................

present-day Swansea scenes in his piece which will be displayed at the National Waterfront Museum Garden. He hopes it will allow viewers to “navigate the scenery; immersing themselves in a landscape that could have come from China, Swansea, or the depths of the imagination.”

Sailing into exhibition PAUL Granjon’s exhibition will open this year’s Art across the City event in a slightly odd way. Along with local choreographer Douglas Comley, he will use 20 dancers to play the Sail Bridge spanning the Tawe “as if

NOISY ART Tripping the light fantastic on Swansea’s Sail Bridge.

Or what about just mooching around in Swansea taking in some modern art just for the fun of it. No, not pickled sheep, elephant dung and unmade beds — that’s all so yesterday! And no, not behind the doors of a museum or hushed gallery. Instead, watch out for charred seabirds, a giant woman’s shoe, a downcast figure contemplating his future on the piers of the old railway bridge across the Tawe and a food-mixer orchestra all of which are on their way to Swansea in coming weeks. Arts charity Locws International is bringing the weird, the beautiful, and the downright controversial to the city creating talking points with public art. The project has been here before.

■ BY KATE CLARKE AND RUTH MOSALSKI

[email protected]

Now Art Across the City is back. Bosses say it will again be thought provoking and amusing, with beautiful works on public display at venues throughout the city from Saturday to Sunday, May 10. Eight international artists are on their way to the city this week building and refining their artworks ahead of Saturday’s launch. A key piece which is set to raise eyebrows will be Megan Broadmeadow’s Ship Shape, a floating sculpture, complete with sails and masts, fashioned in the shape of a giant shoe. She says the object fuses Swansea’s past with its modern day, with its reference to the cockle women who used to toil and walk to market bare foot.

What else is happening, and when? Saturday ..........................................

to bring together different aspects of the city — from the familiar to the unnoticed. Her Some Swansea Sites pieces will be shown at Technium Square in SA1, the leisure centre’s amphitheatre, The LC car park, Museum Green and the Civic Centre on Swansea’s seafront.

Piecing together scenes from past and present SCOTSMAN Calum Stirling is using a more traditional material — he’s taken pieces of the traditional blue Cambrian Pottery which was made in Swansea and combined them into one large piece of art. They’ve been made into a piece showing familiar historical landmarks combined with

FANCY being an art buff for the day?

Performance by Paul Granjon with Dynion Dance Launch reception Guided walk Guided walk Symposium: Locws in Context

6.15pm, Sail Bridge, River Tawe

7pm, National Waterfront Museum 1pm, National Waterfront Museum 2pm, National Waterfront Museum 1pm, Dynevor Arts Centre for Art and Design, De La Beche Street, free and open for all Guided walk 1pm, National Waterfront Museum Guided cycle tour 11am, Technium Square, SA1 Waterfront development Guided walk 2pm, National Waterfront Museum Guided walk 1pm, National Waterfront Museum Guided walk 2pm, National Waterfront Museum Locws closes 5pm See www.artacrossthecity.com for details and updates

“I felt I wanted to highlight the contrast between those humble women and today's shopping society, where shoes are almost disposable to the serial shoppers, says Megan. “I realised the city is now dominated by the more female domain of shopping centres. “Because of this cultural shift, I felt that the feminine

“I try to offer the viewer a slice of fantasy” influence was stronger than the historical masculine one, and therefore something that should be explored in the work.” And if you struggle with conceptual art, think of it as a scene from a Terry Gilliam movie when the high-heeled boat floats by on the Marina. “I try to make things that are

enjoyable to look at and can offer the viewer a slice of fantasy. “The pointy, glossy boats and yachts in the marina greatly reminded me of lipstick, nail varnish and stilettos, and so I felt a ‘shoe-ship’ would be right at home there.” Paul Granjon will open the art festival along with Dynion dance group in a performance piece on the Tawe Sail Bridge, using the structure as a percussive instrument. “The project started from a walk on the bridge with my girlfriend who was wearing high heels and the bridge was resonating,” he says. The French artist, who lives in Cardiff, said he originally planned on making a machine to copy the noise, but then settled on the idea of using the bridge itself as an instrument. In a similarly alternative vein, Swansea bus users may have come across artist

Capturing the views of everyday NEVILLE Gabie, a South African artist who now lives in the UK, has created a video of himself drawing on bus windows. It might sound odd, but he wanted to permanently capture the views people see every day and just let pass by. It is described as “a way of mapping and holding onto

the glimpses one sees when passing through the city.” The video he made in Swansea will be shown alongside two similar films, one from the Trans Siberian Railway and one from Antarctica, a trip he has just completed. The video will be shown in Swansea’s Quadrant bus station.

25

wonderful sculptures turn Swansea into a giant gallery

TO many, Dylan Thomas is synonymous with Swansea, but artist Neeme Külm has looked at the link between the poet and his city. His exhibit looks into whether removing all traces of Thomas would affect the city and its residents. Neeme is the only European exhibitor. He was born, and lives in Estonia. His work will be on show at Dylan Thomas Square, Swansea Marina.

BOUND to attract some stares is Megan Broadmeadow’s giant high-heeled shoe which will take up its floating residence at the Marina in the exhibition. The masts and sails on the shoe are to represent Swansea’s nautical history, while the shoe is to symbolise “femininity issues surrounding the nautical world and the shopping culture omnipresent in every city”. So, not just an object of desire for all women, then.

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009

Neville Gabie on their travels. He was the man drawing on the window with a marker pen each time the bus stopped, in the name of art. “I went on several routes around Swansea and it was just drawing on the bus window, capturing what we were passing by in the city and beyond,” he says. “Buses are, in fact, incredibly social places.” Grace Davies, Project Manager of Locws International, which curates the project, says all the artists involved have been inspired by Swansea’s past, present and future “to create vibrant new artworks that respond, challenge and reflect aspects of the city”. She adds: “It also presents a unique reflection of the spirit of this city at this time.” Unique is one word for Megan Broadmeadow, from North Wales’s structure. Her inspiration came from Swansea’s sea-faring history, but the twist is the connection to ON SHOW Megan Broadmeadow, with her Art Across the City exhibit.

modern-day Swansea. Other pieces on show as part of Art Across the City include work from Estonian Marko Maetamma who has created “a chaotic playground” of children’s toys, all kept within a cage to make them appear more sinister and a look at how cultural icons, Dylan Thomas, can shape a city. Locws says it prides itself on providing new opportunities for

“It is thought-provoking and stimulates debate about art artists, and with projects running on the buses and on the bridges, it’s fair to say the people of Swansea are part of this project whether they know it or not. The exhibits will be on show at 12 sites, from Technium Square in SA1, across to the bus station from this weekend. A number of other events,

including guided walks and cycle tours take place throughout the free event. Art lover Lina Jones, of Killay, a regular at the city’s Glynn Vivian Gallery, said she hoped the scheme would help more people accessing art adding: “ I think it is fantastic for Swansea. “Lots of people are afraid to walk through the door of a museum to see an art piece. “But put it somewhere where it is on show publicly, and you have an immediate audience. “People may not always like, or agree with, what they see. But it is thought-provoking and stimulates debate about art which has to be a good thing.”

it were a percussive musical instrument.” That means Paul, and his group of 20 dancers from the Dynion group, will use the natural noises from the bridge, and their adapted mallets and shoes to entertain the public.

DETAILS of computing courses will be presented at an open day in Swansea next month. Swansea Metropolitan University’s long-established school of applied computing is throwing open the doors to its Mount Pleasant campus to provide information on its full and part-time courses which cover software, hardware and networking training. Head of applied computing Ian Wells said: “We have a number of courses on offer in the school and the open days allow us to meet people with an interest in computing. “We are able to offer advice on which courses would be suitable for what they wish to achieve.” Swansea Met has offered computing degrees for more than 30 years. The open day takes place on Wednesday, May 6, from 1pm. lAnyone interested should call the school on 01792 481192 or email [email protected]

Home-grown attractions to benefit HISTORIC houses, holiday cottages and rugged Welsh countryside are luring in visitors, according to landowner National Trust. Trust bosses are expecting an upsurge in visitors with more people likely to stay at home this tourist season. Director for Wales Iwan Huws said: “The National Trust offers perfect locations for spiritual refreshment in a recession. “People can enjoy miles of dramatic coastline, rugged mountains and our wonderful historic houses and castles not to mention acres of manicured gardens.”

Musical smash heads to city SINGER and actor David Essex is to star alongside musical theatre star Louise English in the smash-hit musical All the Fun of the Fair when it comes to Swansea’s Grand Theatre from April 27 to May 2.

Firm signs to stay CEM Day is being allowed to keep signs at its premises in Plasmarl Industrial Estate following a decision by Swansea Council planning chiefs.

Pact meeting date A PACT Meeting is to take place on Wednesday at the Mountbatten Community Room, Mountbatten Court, Ravenhill, from 6.30pm.