Research Festival
I am proposing to include various of these photographs within a zine to be distributed in the South Wales area with the assistance of Carmarthen College of Art. This zine will also form the basis of a book which I hope to complete for the Research Festival at the conclusion of the course. The book will comprise various photographs of the work places visited along with comments from the work force in relation to various open questions and conversations held with themselves over the last year. These were from conversations during break periods in the canteen or from one to one conversations whilst at their work stations. Most were recorded in English but some in Welsh, areas like Pontardulais and Brynaman maintaining a strong tradition in the Welsh language. A general introductory question of : “Beth sy’n bwysig am eich gwaith?”/“What’s important about your work” or more often, the more general “Beth sy’n bwysig i chi?”/ what’s important to you?”. I was much taken by the film “Chronicles of a Summer” created by the film maker Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin, 1961 and in particular by this very open questioning and subsequent conversations and debate. The book itself will be compiled from the paper from John Purcell and printed onto both digitally and in the workshops from screen print and etching. The book itself will be placed on a stand constructed from salvaged steel and belts used for the transportation of the metal sheets within the works. Photographs of these were obtained during my initial visit which immediately struck me as being symbolic of the forging of productive relationships and friendships within the workplace.
Process photographs reference the preparation of the steel pages, this to be page ”1” and front cover. I purposefully sourced steel with the distinctive patina shown in the first photograph as the blue is particularly distinctive to metal produced at the Port Talbot plant. To me it is evocative as a life force and serves as a reminder of the blue scarring on the face of miners. The first image was screenprinted with the second and third etched, having been screenprinted with blue metallic Humbrol enamel paint. It is interesting to note that the versions with the Humbrol paint take on a more abstract perspective and may be something to experiment with in the future.
The six steel pages were prepared in the Metal Workshops at college and then screenprinted. I was very pleased with the colouration of the metal and in the layout of pages, as here where the central image is separated. (These being pages 2 & 3). I am also liaising with Brian Hodgson to have further pages etched.
Having experimented with the application of Humbrol paint this was then removed leaving a gun metal colour presentation of the front page.
This metal book forms a major component of the Research Festival work. The book comprises steel pages created at the engineering works, featuring imagery and processes that document the relationship between craft, industry, and the workforce. The pages themselves become artifacts of the making process.
Images to be included in the metal book
Paper book
A paper book is also being considered, made from an archival board and of a more playful nature. The binder will be just over A4 in size and will have a screenprint image when opened and also on the cover.
Photographs to be used in the paper book
Cross Engineering
Shufflebottom
Corgi
Central Wales Line
Venue Documentation Pages
To form pages within the Paper book. Consideration to be given reference the paper to be printed on.
Metal Box Factory
Cross Engineering
Shufflebottom Ltd
Corgi Factory, Ammanford
Pantyffynnon Railway Station
Influences on research
Chapter on the Research Festival Process and influences: Richard Serra (Dirks Pod), Anselm Kiefer, and Joseph Beuys. For more on Joseph Beuys and his influence on contemporary art: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-beuys-747
Youtube clip SABPP3: The Continuing Influence of Ed Ruscha. V&A clip https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/book-as-idea Good source of research: Photobook Gallery, Photobook cafe Shoreditch, London; Exhibition at the Arnolfini centre, Bristol, Conway Hall exhibition, Folium Publishing, Tate Archive. The differing formats adopted are fascinating, and following on from a presentation by Chrystel Labas and Jo Love at the college we were given an opportunity of seeing a number of very interesting examples. Whilst I am preparing a metal (steel) book and a paper/card format going forward this is something which I will certainly adopt. Having reflected on the input received, and reviewing my collection of photographs over the previous year one proposal will be to try to create a book, the pages of which will be wound within a spinning wheel as seen at the Corgi factory in Ammanford.
The summer months were also taken up with a visit to the National Museum of Wales archive section where I was very fortunate in being provided access to the site Voices from the Factory Floor which had both oral and written transcripts from employees at the Metal Box factory in Neath, a major employer and iconic site of the day. I also visited the former industrial museum at Kidwelly, West Wales where I was given a tour of the site by the Museums and Arts Development Manager for Carmarthenshire. A photograph taken at the site was reproduced on returning to the workshops and printed utilising the Etching process with Brian Hodgson. The matrix, a large piece of copper, was also further inked and retained as an object in itself.
Exhibition Space Planning
The exhibition space planning document outlines the layout and organization for the Research Festival exhibition.