40 x 30cm
£395 

Painting of Abertridwr

This painting of Abertridwr is part of a series entitled "Valley Lines: Bargoed to the Bay".

The paintings explore the historical, economic and cultural connections - both physical and emotional - between people and places in the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff.

The paintings invite the viewer to reflect on Cardiff and the Valleys' move from a (physically tough) industrial and maritime economy, based on the mining, transport and export of coal, to an e-commerce, media and tourism based economy of entertainment and leisure opportunities.

I found the image on which the painting is based on the internet. The photograph was taken in 1910. My aunt and uncle lived for a short time - in the 1960s - in Abertridwr. I remember visiting them as a small boy. Did Abertridwr look something like this then?

It is, like so many of my paintings, a painting about memory and loss. My aunt and uncle emigrated to Australia as "ten quid poms" in the mid 60s. When my cousin visited from Australia she wanted to visit Abertridwr. Neither of us could remember it. A photograph from 1910 is probably more accurate than anything our unreliable memories could remember, which is why I used it as the basis for this painting.