art
KELP
National Museum, Cardiff Until Sun 1 Sept Promoting a re-branded and entirely modernised version of the Welsh heritage food product laverbread for a young, stylish and metropolitan audience, Kelp is the latest exhibition by Swansea-born artist Dan Rees. Far from its commercial roots on market stalls, seaweed-based produce is to be advertised as a cult health food product: high in protein, rich in vitamins, and the superfood du jour. This vision supports the current green food revolution and promotes a food staple glamorised by Asian cuisine for thousands of years. Edible seaweed is regularly associated with rural and rustic welsh living, still eaten widely across Wales in the form of laverbread. The somewhat infamous Welsh delicacy, made with oats, has been described by Richard Burton as‘ The Welsh man’ s Caviar’ and is traditionally fried and served with bacon and cockles as part of a Welsh breakfast. In Japan, the cold water seaweed Porphyra is used to produce the sea vegetable product nori, which is used in soups and to wrap sushi. Porphyra is also an ingredient in laverbread, however, the streamline Asian cuisine tends to receive a much better press compared to the ugly duckling of Welsh cuisine, often regarded as a culinary novelty despite packing the same nutritional content as its Asian counterpart. The artist’ s subversive re-branding of seaweed produce was sparked by his love of laverbread, a product that he regularly gets sent from Wales to his studio in Berlin, and by his interest in the“ preconceptions about the identity of Wales and the idea that being Celtic was somehow traditional.” Dan Rees’ s rebranding – from packaging design to photography – bridges the divide between traditional and modern dinning and challenges the“ almost futuristic” food of Japan as its audience is asked to reconsider the benefits and appeal of seaweed at the heart of a green food revolution. Admission: free. Info: 029 2039 7951 / www. museumwales. ac. uk LOWRI MARTINSON
© THE COLLECTION OF HOWARD HODGKIN
NATHAN SHEEN: SIGNS OF LIFE
The Riverfront, Newport Thurs 8 Aug-Fri 6 Sept After being involved in a serious road traffic accident on the M4 motorway, Sheen first created a collection of pieces based upon road signs, changing these recognisable objects before putting them back into their original surroundings. By cleverly playing with the wording of signs, he created new meanings from old symbolism. Signs Of Life sees this idea taken further, with the theme of signs used in interesting and novel ways to create a clever collection. In these latest paintings, Sheen unifies the graphic nature of signage with fine art painting to explore what is meant by‘ Welshness’. Utilising symbols that are familiar in everyday Welsh life he creates a representation of our country through a synthesis of traditional painting and graphic design. Sheen has produced both large individual symbols with the strong lines and conspicuous colours of road signs, and repetitive patterns of small symbols to form a striking collection of pieces that incorporate Welsh imagery such as sheep, daffodils and beaches. Through this pop art flavoured method of painting he captures the very essence of being Welsh in an almost pictographic manner, drawing on symbolism that is inherently linked with the country and serving it in fresh and inspiring ways. Admission: free. Info: 01633 656757 / www. newport. gov. uk / theriverfront( JD)
WALES AT WATER’ S EDGE
Aberystwyth Arts Centre Until Sat 7 Sept Wales is a beautiful place. We all moan about the weather we have here, but there is no denying that we have great expanses of countryside that can rival most others. But how often do you actually stop to look at the landscape around you and appreciate its beauty? This month, Aberystwyth Arts Centre will be showing the latest work of photographer Jeremy Moore. Jeremy specialises in the Welsh landscape and wildlife inside it. This latest project took him two years to complete, was linked to the opening of the Wales Coastal footpath, and includes images of the breathtaking coastal landscapes stretching from Chepstow to the Dee Estuary. It isn’ t just the wonder of nature that you’ ll see highlighted in his prints, many industrial locations such as power plants, factories and bridges are all represented, providing a true view of our modern landscape. This isn’ t just art; it’ s a beautiful representation of the social and natural history of our Welsh coastline. If you’ d like to learn a little bit more about the project, why not pop along to hear the artist himself talk about it. Jeremy Moore will be available at a free talk discussing Wales At Water’ s Edge on Thurs 8 Aug. For more info, get in touch with the box office. Admission: free. Info: 01970 623232 / www. aberystwythartscentre. co. uk( LR)
VISIONS OF MUGHAL INDIA
National Museum, Cardiff Until Sun 3 Nov Howard Hodgkin started collecting Mughal Indian art in his schooldays, and now has one of the finest collections of Indian painting in the world. The collection is on permanent loan to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and now a selection of paintings and drawings from this enormous collection are on tour. These paintings cover a period of over 300 years from the earliest days of the Mughal Empire( c. 1550) to the eventual dissolution of the British Empire in 1857 after the First War Of Indian Independence. The geographical sweep of this collection is similarly huge from the intricate Persian-influenced miniatures of Delhi, to the boldly drawn and vividly coloured paintings of Rajasthan to paintings from the Deccani Sultanates Of Southern India. The subjects in the collection range from animals( there are many paintings of elephants, a particular fascination of Mughal painters), courtly scenes, portraits of nobles, scenes from everyday life, images from mythical epics and illustrations of poems. The exhibition consists of 115 paintings which go some way to representing the richness of the Indian tradition of visual art and Indian history. There are few, if any, exhibitions this year which will match this one for variety, richness and sheer exuberance. For those reasons this is not to be missed. Admission: free. Info: 029 2057 3500 / www. musuemwales. ac. uk( DG)
CRAFT IN THE BAY SUMMER SHOW
Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay Until Sun 1 Sept Craft In The Bay’ s annual summer show draws to a close this month at their converted grade II listed Victorian maritime warehouse in Cardiff Bay. The selection panel of Beate Gegenwart( head of Applied Art at Swansea Metropolitan University), potter Morgen Hall, and Charlotte Kingston( Exhibitions And Education Officer) for the Makers Guild In Wales have had the tough job of selecting a variety of the best craftsmen and women from Wales and beyond to form a carefully selected summer exhibition. Exhibits include a range of intriguing artist books from recent textiles MA graduate Nancy Mitchell; contemporary glass artist Ruth Shelley whose pieces are inspired by the dramatic mid-Wales landscape; glass vessels by Beryl Morgan; anodised aluminium jewellery by Lantrisant-based Mandy Nash; contemporary stitch work by artist Ruth Harries; contemporary jewellery by Isle Of Skye designer Heather McDermott and finely detailed ceramics from Lisa Krigel. Bringing together an eclectic range of craftspeople from around the UK, this year’ s exhibition sees the inclusion of a People’ s Choice award, in which the public are encouraged to choose their favourite piece from the exhibition. The winner will then have an opportunity to exhibit again at Craft In The Bay with a larger body of work. Admission: free. Info: 029 2048 4611 / www. makersguildinwales. org. uk( PT)
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