Imagining History: New writing in Exhibition Pamphlet Oriel y Bont, University of South Wales.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the process of responding to the art and reading the resulting writing in the Imagining History Exhibition Pamphlet. The exhibition was held in Oriel y Bont, University of South Wales, from 1 November to 17 December 2021.

In the words of Barrie Llewelyn (editor of the pamphlet), “the exhibition, pamphlet and conference focussed on the complex relationship between fiction and fact” and drew attention to the “partial, fragmentary or even distorted nature of the narratives which often shape our national histories.”

For me, the themes of landscape and memory appealed, especially in the work of John Elwyn. In my short piece, “Mama Daly” I hoped to imagine the life of a woman looking at – and also longing for – what lies in and beyond her immediate town-and-land-scapes. With thanks to Barrie for including my flash fiction piece in the publication and exhibition.

The exhibition included work by Susan Adams, Iwan Bala, Judith Beecher, Elizabeth Bridge, Jack Crabtree, Morag Colquhoun, Ivor Davies, Ken Elias, Geraint Evans, Tom Goddard, Clive Hicks-Jenkins, Rachel Jones, Naomi Leake, Kate Milsom, Radha Patel, Paul Reas, André Stitt, Daniel Trevidy, Dawn Woolley and others.

The pamphlet included writing by Tony Curtis, Frank Dullaghan, Kate Noakes, Maria Donovan, Judith Goldsmith, Derwen Morfayel, Christopher Meredith and many others, including myself.

Read more about the University of South Wales gallery, exhibition, conference and pamphlet here.