Blaenau Ffestiniog

2012

My dream project! I have been making artwork about the slate-quarrying landscape of Blaenau Ffestiniog since I was at art college in the mid 1970’s. By the early years of the twenty-first century however, the closure of most of the quarries had led to economic decline. One hope for reviving the fortunes of the town lay in the growing outdoor tourism market – but without compromising the strong sense of community that is such a hallmark of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
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A number of enterprising local initiatives culminated in the formation of the community regeneration group Blaenau Ymlaen (Blaenau Forward) which identified the need to celebrate the very significant heritage of the town whilst also bringing new life to the town centre. In 2008 I was appointed as artist on the design team, alongside other key personnel including Chris Jones, then of Miller Research and Tim Rose of Macgregor Smith landscape architects. Gwynedd Council gave their full support to the £4.5m scheme and we were particularly fortunate to have Pryderi ap Rhisiart who at the time was their inspirational regeneration officer for the area. It was Pryderi who declared that we needed a Wow! factor at the heart of the scheme.
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Extensive public consultation over the next two years led to just such a scheme, with the heritage and culture of the town and quarrymen being celebrated in a contemporary manner. Four large pillars of slate stand 7.5 metres high, drawing visitors from the Ffestiniog Railway and Network Rail stations onto the high street. Reminiscent of the triangular chisels used to split slates, the courses are laid at 30 degrees to echo the angle of the slate beds in the mountains rising above the site. Embedded in the courses of slates are quarrying terms and phrases from local poets.

Further gateway pillars frame the town centre and feature signage to orientate the visitor. A ‘River of Slate’ creates a centrepiece in the paving, with the names of over 350 slate quarries from across the whole of Wales engraved on the correct colour of slate for each quarry. Bands of poetry created by Gai Thomas and Dewi Prysor with local school children extend along the high street to draw the visitor and celebrate this unique community. Even the bus shelters include detail in the paving, recreating the sizes of slates named after female aristocracy.

Benches in oak are reminders of the slate trucks that once ran across the site, but also replicate the splitting of a block into eight slates. Indeed, the whole scheme is orientated along the railway lines that once carried slate down the inclines behind the town – a notable axis that I first explored as an art student back in 1977!
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The scheme has won multiple awards, for both the vision and the community involvement. For more detail about the artwork and the inspiration behind it, please see the great little film Codi Cerrig, made by Huw Jenkins:
Watch the film here

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