Llanw brings together photography and sculpture with a marine/aquatic connection in a special exhibition that runs alongside the traditional Summer Exhibition at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw.
Situated overlooking Cardigan Bay the gallery is the ideal venue to see Mike Perry's extraordinary photographic studies of washed up beach detritus and the playful, thought-provoking sculpture of Alexander Duncan.
Pembrokeshire based Mike Perry's Môr Plastig, Welsh for 'Plastic Sea' captures the impact of both plastic objects upon the living world, and the erosive power of nature in highly detailed digital prints. He presents each object simply, accentuating and inviting us to contemplate the aesthetic qualities of its erosion, the environmental danger it represents, and the moral consumerism it embodies. Images of items found on the beach at Porth Ceiriad on Llŷn are displayed in addition to a grid of images of flip flops and shoes found on beaches in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Cuba and Wales, last shown as part of the Vita Vitale exhibition at the Azerbaijan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Art in 2015 but now at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw with two additional shoes found on beaches in Llŷn and Eifionydd.
Swansea-born Alexander Duncan takes us to the border between reality and illusion in works that also have an aquatic theme. The mass of pebble forms that make up Cove (2007-2016), re-presented in a gallery with a view directly overlooking the Bay and alongside Perry's Pecked Foam (2016), creates a relationship that conveys both the beauty and the horror of pollution. At first glance Empty Vessel (2016) is an innocuous earplug but closer inspection reveal it to be a beautiful painstakingly carved cetaecean bone. Likewise the colourful swimming floats displayed outside the gallery, as if left from a nearby beach swim, are not quite what they seem and would definitely not float! Alexander was awarded the Glyn Vivian Gallery's prestigious Wakelin Award for a version of this work, Like Swimming, in 2015. In addition to the exhibition Alexander will be spending a week-in-residence at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw at the end of August.
A season of activities and talks have been arranged to coincide with the exhibition to draw attention to various marine related themes including understanding the ecology of the sea surrounding the gallery in Llanbedrog Bay and raising awareness around issues of plastic and other waste. Children's workshops and beach-cleans will provide fun and practical ways for children to participate and learn about the environment.
Alexander Duncan
Alexander Duncan graduated in Fine Art from Swansea Metropolitan University (now Swansea College of Art at University of Wales Trinity St David's) in 2007 followed by an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art London where he continues to live and work. He exhibits regularly and Cove, an important early work that was first shown in Oriel Wrexham in 2009 has been shown in various locations from Milan to Mostyn in Llandudno and won the People's Choice Award at the Lle Celf in the National Eisteddfod in Glamorgan in 2012. Duncan is a current recipient of The Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award.
Mike Perry
After a post-graduate degree in Economics and 13 years in industry, Mike Perry left the world of commerce to concentrate on his art and environmental projects. His first public exhibition was at The Photographers Gallery in London in 2004 and since then he has exhibited widely including the group show New Ground: Landscape Art in Wales since 1970 at National Museum Wales Cardiff in 2012, Y Lle Celf at the National Eisteddfod in Denbigh, 2013 and at the Azerbaijan Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale of Art in 2015. Perry also undertook a residency at Oriel y Parc in St David's in 2015 where he continued to develop Môr Plastig and this year was awarded a prestigious Arts Council of Wales Creative Wales Award.
The exhibition and related activities have been made possible through Programme Support Funding from the Arts Council of Wales, Gwynedd Council and the Llandudno Fine and Decorative Arts Society.
