The Exhibition

Private View: 8th November 2pm until 4pm.

Exhibition: 9th November until 27th November 2014.

Becky’s videos can be viewed here.

The drawings can be viewed here.

Bill’s work for Powis can be viewed here.

 

Artist Statement – Becky

In English

My intention with the Powis Castle project has been to focus my interest in ‘things’ on the objects that belong to the castle and to consider how the people who come into contact with them relate to and perceive them. This has been done through visits to the castle, and through interviews with staff, volunteers and visitors.

I have created three videos and a number of drawings based on my research.

Powis Castle Favourite Objects

The first video, an animation, was created on an iPad and is focused on favourite objects chosen by Powis Castle staff and volunteers. It consists of interviews and close-up iPad drawings. For this video, I studied a number of elements: colour, placement, composition, contrast and shade. I wanted to consider how the compositional content of an image influences the viewer’s perception of the object and how it can contrast or complement the audio soundtrack. I deliberately gave the video a rhythm. I wanted the animation to be simple, containing few elements.

The Roman Cat

The second video is based around people’s knowledge and opinion about one particular object at Powis: the Roman cat statue. The video is a collage of responses added to animations made on an iPad and paper, these have been spliced together with real footage. I chose this object because of the uncertainty of its origins, the strong reactions about what it depicts, and qualities it has such as colour, size, texture and material. There are some interesting stories connected with this statue.

So, what did you think of the Roman Cat?

The third video derives from discussions I’ve had with visitors to Powis about their response to the Roman cat statue. This video is text-based but I hope it is also very visual. I wanted the movement and colour of the text on the screen to reflect the speed and emotion of the voices in the audio. I have studied the cat in great detail: photographing it, drawing sections of it and videoing it. I have become increasingly intrigued with this object over time. During this process I have found myself feeling very attached to it, a fact that also fascinated me (yet I have never been able to touch it).

 

In Welsh

Fy mwriad gyda phrosiect Castell Powis yw canolbwyntio fy niddordeb mewn ‘pethau’ ar y gwrthrychau sy’n perthyn i’r castell ac ystyried sut mae’r bobl sy’n dod i gysylltiad â nhw yn eu canfod ac yn ymagweddu iddynt. Gwnaethpwyd hyn drwy ymweld â’r castell, a chynnal cyfweliadau gyda staff, gwirfoddolwyr ac ymwelwyr.

Rwyf wedi creu tair fideo a nifer o luniau yn seiliedig ar fy ymchwil.

Hoff Wrthrychau Yng Nghastell Powis

Cafodd y fideo gyntaf, animeiddiad, ei chreu ar iPad ac mae’n canolbwyntio ar hoff wrthrychau staff a gwirfoddolwyr Castell Powis. Mae’n cynnwys cyfweliadau a darluniau agoslun ar iPad. Ar gyfer y fideo hon, astudiais nifer o elfennau: lliw, lleoliad, cyfansoddiad, cyferbynnedd a chysgod. Roeddwn eisiau ystyried sut mae cynnwys cyfansoddiadol darlun yn dylanwadu ar sut mae’r gwyliwr yn canfod y gwrthrych a sut y gall gyferbynnu â neu ategu’r trac sain. Rhoddais rythm i’r fideo yn fwriadol. Roeddwn eisiau i’r animeiddiad fod yn syml, gydag ychydig elfennau yn unig.

Y Gath Rufeinig

Mae’r ail fideo wedi’i seilio ar wybodaeth a barn pobl am un darn penodol yng Nghastell Powis: cerflun y gath Rufeinig. Mae’r fideo yn glytwaith o ymatebion wedi eu hychwanegu i animeiddiadau a wnaed ar iPad ac ar bapur, a’r rhain wedi eu sbleisio gyda darnau o ffilm go iawn. Dewisais y gwrthrych hwn oherwydd yr ansicrwydd dros ei gwreiddiau, yr ymatebion cryf am beth mae’n ei bortreadu, a’i rhinweddau megis ei lliw, maint, ansawdd a deunydd. Mae ambell i stori ddiddorol ynghlwm â’r cerflun hwn.

Felly, beth oeddech chi’n feddwl o’r Gath Rufeinig?

Mae’r drydedd fideo yn deillio o’r trafodaethau a gefais gydag ymwelwyr Castell Powis am eu hymateb i gerflun y gath Rufeinig. Testun yw sail y fideo hon, ond rwy’n gobeithio ei bod hefyd yn weledol iawn. Roeddwn eisiau i symudiad a lliw’r testun ar y sgrin adlewyrchu cyflymdra ac emosiwn y lleisiau yn y sain. Rwyf wedi astudio’r gath yn fanwl iawn: ei ffotograffio, darlunio rhannau ohoni a gwneud fideo ohoni. Rwyf wedi ymffrostio yn y gwrthrych hwn, a’r teimlad hwnnw wedi cynyddu gydag amser. Yn ystod y broses hon rwyf wedi dod i deimlo fod gen i gysylltiad cryf â’r gath, ac mae hynny wedi fy rhyfeddu (er nad ydwyf erioed wedi cael ei chyffwrdd).

 

 

 

Becky’s artwork was displayed in the Annex (between the cafe and the shop) and Bill’s in the Ballroom.