ARTISTS TALKING

Coed Hills Rural Artspace, Vale of Glamorgan
2 July – 1 October

Coed Hills Rural Artspace (CHRA) is a unique place. Situated on the outskirts of a rather gentile village in the Vale of Glamorgan, it is a testament to positive living and home to a small group of artists whose ranks are regularly swelled through residencies and collaborations. Over the summer, CHRA was also host to ‘Breathing Ground’, an ambitious three-month project that showed the work of over forty artists in a variety of performances and exhibitions, as well as adding new work to an existing sculpture trail.

It is a formidable task to review a three-month show where different events (including cinema screenings, workshops, and collaborations with guest curators) took place on a weekly basis. Local and international artists, at different stages of their careers and producing work of varying quality, were also shown alongside each other, making it impossible to deliver any sweeping statements or conclusive judgements. For example, the show was opened by Rht Hon Rhodri Morgan (First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government), followed by Totem, an André Stitt performance that used horse and man power to drag a totem to its final resting place, and ended with bands playing on a newly constructed woodland stage: a combination of politics, art, entertainment and biodiversity that neatly summarises the ethos of CHRA.

This diversity is as frustrating as it is inspiring. It is difficult to leave ‘Breathing Ground’ without finding something that resonates and remains in your thoughts – the map-less sculpture trail, with a lack of indication as to whom made the work, can leave an audience feeling lost. It seems, however, that this is a deliberate move rather than a lax oversight; by awarding the work with a certain level of anonymity, a level playing field is created, stripping away some of the preconceptions an audience may arrive with and challenging the viewer to actively look for work that could easily be missed.

An example of this is Peter Finnemore’s camouflaged cow, sneakily placed behind a white picket fence on the boundary of the village, or Elizabeth Ross’ fungus of doll’s house crockery that covers the branches of trees. This light-hearted allusion to the freedom and beauty of nature, is starkly contrasted by pieces such as John Whitehead’s pillars of wood, where smooth, white recesses bulge out to form ugly and uncontrolled growths, highlighting the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

As with all shows at CHRA, the static remains of ‘Breathing Ground’ will reside in the forest after the show is over, and nature will be left to take its course, deciding whose work has the right to survive and be remembered, and for how long.

Debra Savage

Debbie Savage

debrasavage99@yahoo.com