We have been exploring the Sirhowy river in South Wales – a tributary of the Ebbw River running between Risca and Tredegar – and its historic landscape. Over the weekend we made a landscape prototype inspired by Ordnance Survey contour maps. Just working the contoured clay together was so absorbing, meditative, almost thrilling. Then we poured a large single piece mould which now sits drying for a couple of weeks in the studio.
The Sirhowy work idea sprang from an afternoon of what might be called spiritual fun; some meditation to Sirhowy river water sound recorded by Lance previously, followed by a dowsing kit to connect with angels. Then, even more tongue in cheek, a Lord of the Rings branded oracle which also dowsed on the Lord of the Rings map. Mike was very sceptical as he is not really a Tolkein fan. But perhaps not quite so frivolous after all, Lance had been shown to point his finger at a specific area on the map to ask questions. At that moment Mike had a distinct third eye vision of a bend in the Sirhowy river we had visited again the day before, amongst other parts. This time his perceived image was distinctly different, the light different, a spiritual quality, not wintery grey. It came with an insight that the river was used in ancient times by pagans. This piqued our interest even more and research tells us it was used by Druids. We have since been mapping out the history of mining in the area, now thankfully mainly redeveloped back into less industrial and polluted landscapes, and making sense of the wonderful geography.
It has been quite amusing that commercial book/film merchandise should have sparked a deeper spiritual connection with the landscape we’ve been exploring and now making work for. Spiritual connections with all of our work is an important element as we move forward and now we have that with the Sirhowy River. Unmistakably there are places on the river where your consciousness shifts and it feels pagan and shamanic, like ripples of ancient human activity echoing the ripples and waves of water.
As a consequence of this spiritual shift, Mike was inspired to find a pagan staff or wand, and we revisited the area to seek one out – but none of the wood we saw spoke to him. Passing into the wooded area of St David’s Wood just below Oakdale is somewhat like entering a “realm” – maybe like arriving at Rivendell in Lord of the Rings. Perhaps though, this is somewhat auto-suggestive; maybe so, but it does give rise to a different shift in consciousness, quite magical and very creative. Mike has since found a staff and is fashioning it to make his tantric energy magic. With a wig and a longer beard he would look quite the Gandalf. Well, Ian McKellen is one of our acting heroes after all.
Moulding the landscape 
Preparing for plaster 
The final plaster negative 
A view of St David’s Wood – the “realm” – running alongside the Sirhowy River