Participants with their collaborative textile work outside Waunarllywdd Community Centre
Featuring John Piper’s Swansea Bay and South Wales View (Swansea West)
As part of GlynnVivian’s outreach programme the gallery worked in collaboration with partner project ArtBreak, run by artist Tina Grant, alongside textile artist Menna Buss.
With participants Gyda’r cyfranogwyr: Chris G | Chris L | Chris D | Glenys | Ann | Beverly | Jeff | Marjorie | Monica | Cath | Cathie | Rebecca | Angela | Gill | Liz | Debbie
Participants from Waunarlwydd Community Centre were introduced to works from the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection. The group spent the day making creative responses to these images in word and print. John Piper’s works Swansea Bay and South Wales View (Swansea West) sparked the most conversations with their recognisable Swansea landmarks and dramatic staging.
John Piper: Swansea Bay. Print and ink on paper. 1970’s
John Piper: South Wales View (Swansea West). Gouache and Watercolour.
They recounted personal connections to the landscapes looking across the city and to the Bay. They began to share stories that took place within the scenes: memories of first babies born, pickle factories, piano lessons, climbing Kilvey Hill, visiting the sea and journeys on the steam train.
Using embroidery yarns, participants learnt hand embroidery techniques to add to their prints. Interviews captured the stories connecting the participants to places in John Piper’s images, as well as their own responses to the work. Text responses were collated into a few lines and quotes then embroidered onto white cotton: ‘sloping down streets’, ‘bright yellow sky’, ‘a lovely memory’. The group collectively positioned their work on a backing cloth to create a patchwork.
The sharing of stories bonded the group together and brought a different context to the works of John Piper. As images developed memories were shared and connections discovered. Each person with an individual story to tell, each person connected through one place…Swansea, then and now…
