I was invited to participate in a talk about James Richards’ pieces at the Chapter Gallery through the medium of Welsh, and having already seen it before in Venice, I was very excited to see how a different setting for the films would change how I felt about them. I made a short video below of the parts I found especially interesting;
What I found was that I felt less uncomfortable seeing it for the second time because I already knew what was in the film and what was coming next. Because of this, I was able to understand what it could be all about more. I personally thought it was about time, hearing the ticking clocks in the background, dancing skeletons and a man going through vintage-looking photographs, which certainly made me feel nostalgic. The fact that the films are now shown in a dark room at Chapter and not a romantic old Venice building changed the atmosphere, too. I found it made it more serious in a way being in a dark room, because I was never tempted to look around at old architecture.
I visited the National Gallery again to view the contemporary art currently on display by artists such as Anthony Stokes and his photography. Writing about his pictures in his book, Anthony says: “I’m lucky to have caught this profoundly important place in Wales – the power-house of the Industrial Revolution – at a time of quickening change. But its essence seems to remain intact. Only notions of conventional good taste, or coastal prejudice, are capable of obscuring the wonder of The Valleys. Could you trust a painting or a verbal description to tell the truth? Might a camera be the perfect tool to reveal such beauty?… I’m not fond of any kind of picture, including portraiture and landscape, where the subject is seen through rose-tinted glasses. I want the truth, in its entirety. Apart from having a likeness, good portraits reveal something else of the sitter: a quirk, a beauty, a characteristic trait – or something potent you can’t quite place. They are personal.”
I find the honesty in his work refreshing – he just takes pictures of the truth of the Welsh Valleys, which is something I value because rural areas, such as where I live in North Wales, are often sold as magical places (which is certainly true, in my biased opinion), but the truth of the industrial, poor past is rarely shown.
saratrouble 