I was delighted in September to have one of my sculptural pieces, ‘Working the Landscape’, shortlisted in the Wales Contemporary Exhibition 2020, to be held at the Waterfront Gallery in Milford Haven. Having delivered my  work at the end of October, sadly the exhibition timings were then disrupted by  Covid-19 restrictions. The planned opened on 6 Nov was delayed to 12 November, with the intention to remain open to 30 December. Unfortunately the gallery had to close its doors again on 4 December so that far fewer people have been able to see the exhibition than planned.

It is, however, possible to get a sense of the exhibition and to view all of the works online. First, the  Waterfront Gallery website has a full listing of works in the exhibition, including mine. Second, the gallery organisers took the opportunity to film the launch event. Unable to be at the opening myself due to restrictions that came into England at that time, and although not amongst the prizewinners, I  was pleasantly surprised to see (as below) that my piece happened to be centre-frame for much of the video! The exhibition was formally opened by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism for the Welsh Government,  with prizes announced by sponsors Port  of Milford Haven,  Valero UK, Rob & Tessa Thompson and George James. The submissions were judged by artist Basil Beattie RA, Welsh-based sculptor Sebastien Boyesen, plus painter and emeritus professor Gerda Roper, and in a second video you can watch the judges and sponsors discussing the exhibition.

Here is a glimpse of my piece, a ceramic sculptural group:

As I wrote in my submission for the exhibition, “These figures are reflections on Welsh mining landscapes – contoured layers referencing mountainside surface workings and underground coal seams, made poignant by my uncle’s recent death in his Valleys home close to the mine he and earlier generations worked in.”

WALES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITION 2020 – at the Waterfront Gallery in conjunction with Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru (Arts Council of Wales)
12-30 December, 2020
Shortlist Exhibition: at the Waterfront Gallery, Milford Haven, The Old Sail loft, Discovery Quay, The Docks, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire SA73 3AF.
Transfers to the gallery@oxo, London, 25 Feb – 7 Mar 2021.