Our second day and already we have a field trip! Hurray!!! Off to Mostyn Gallery and Haus Helfa for a day of artistic absorption of the best kind.
Throughout the exhibitions there was this overwhelming sense of nostalgia bringing to the surface a lot of memories from my childhood.
I found Mostyn Gallery to be quite a sterile environment, however there were two paintings in particular that I felt drawn to, Having Coffee by Ella Kruglyanskaya (2015) and Black Chandalier by Shani Rhys-Jones (2012).
Having Coffee by Ella Kruglyanskaya (2015) : I liked this picture initially because of the striking colour scheme. The cartoonish style reminded me very much of old postcards from the time of my childhood and the “tongue-in-cheek” feminism really struck a cord with me, being surrounded by strong sarcastic women throughout my lifetime.
Black Chandalier by Shani Rhys-Jones (2012): I was particularly drawn to the woman in a domestic setting, in particular her face and eyes. I spent a long time looking at how this part of the picture had been painted.
The installations at Haus Helfa struck me as being more sensory and in tune with the building. I did enjoy reading this blog by Remy Dean about Haus Helfa.
The art that had the most lasting impression upon me was the work of Iwan Lewis. When I first walked in the room, I admit, I barely glanced at the piece showing the boy sat waiting.
Iwan’s words however, instantly transported me back to being unceremoniously deposited outside Marks and Spencer to wait while my mum shopped and then being rewarded for my good behaviour with a Strawberry milkshake.
In the image below, I have overlayed an old image of Marks and Spencer in Rhyl with the piece depicting the boy. This to me best represents my response and my memories of this time.
All in all a really enjoyable, inspiring day!
She's a Fine Artist 