Artist Residency at The Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru

 "Since January 2014, I have been developing connections and a residency project in partnership with The Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru (JHAFC), which will explore Ystradgynlais and the surrounding area, in terms of the relationships between humans and the landscape, a theme that ran strongly through Josef Herman's work, and the notions of dislocation, place, belonging and 'hiraeth'.This project has been inspired by Herman's experience as an émigré Polish Jew and the home that he found in Ystradgynlais.I shall be deep mapping, exploring mountains and mines,  histories and myths,  creating interventions and investigating  coal as both matter and symbolic object."The project will also be the first artist residency that will draw on and look to feed into the JHAFC's newly formed digital community archive which is part of The Tate's Archives and Access Project.The project will result in the production and exhibition of new work and documentation. It will also seek to cultivate links with new and existing project partners with a view to developing a more substantial second project that would foster further meaningful connections with the people and the place of Ystradgynlais as well as further afield with a touring exhibition." Arts Council Wales and The Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru are funding my residency  which run from February to May 2015.As part of this project, Mission Gallery, Swansea has offered me a 3 day mini residency in April.Last November, whilst still developing this residency, I was invited by Mission Gallery to do an event for CIVIC @ Cardiff Contemporary  in collaboration Sarah Pace (curator). This was in partnership with the Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru and Cardiff Community Housing Association.The event was called Narrative and Place and involved a walk, talk and film screening looking at the links between Josef Herman, David Martin and both Tiger Bay the book and Tiger Bay the film.We also showed Gwyn Thomas's documentary of Butetown made inn1960's. The free film screening was at CMC@Loudon Square, Cardiff. . Various people were invited to come along and contribute their narratives.