Happy New Year!
Over the last few weeks I have been printing work made in west Wales and west Cornwall during the last ten years. I have recently been making prototype books and my thoughts returned to this particular project which focused on uncanny equivalents to be found in these areas - making prints is my preferred way to start thinking about developing a book - I thought you never know, perhaps there is something to do here...
Initially, I had been drawn to make this work as I was struck by the similarities between Wales (Cymru) and Cornwall (Kernow). Landscape, language and a shared history of trade, religion and cultural exchange all seem to contribute to a form of equivalence. I found that moving through these places there was also some sense of an innate spirituality that at times bordered on the uncanny. In 2020 I selected some of the images for a small booklet I made to mark what I saw as the conclusion of the project as I was unlikely to return to Cornwall to make more photographs.
More recently I revisited not just the booklet but also all the other work I made around this idea and whilst the core selection remains valid I did find photographs that I had overlooked earlier. I guess time changes how we view photographs, and having now lived in west Wales for almost three years my own perspective on the place has obviously changed. When initially making these photographs I had felt something of an ‘outsider’ visiting west Wales and west Cornwall for work and/or leisure from my base in the south Wales Valleys. Perhaps the distance of time allows me to see the importance of such things more clearly.
I intend to continue working on this and will keep you updated. The working title Gorl(l)ewin makes reference to translations from the English word west which in Cymraeg is gorllewin and Cornish gorlewin. Hearing these works in their relative languages leaves no doubt about the different sound-worlds the languages occupy - one not so obvious from the spelling alone. Perhaps when I was photographing in Kernow I was always trying to find Cymru and there was a similar visual shape-shifting at play making its finding all the more elusive.
Take care
Paul
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Sounds great! Can't wait to see more!