Look Up in St David's this Easter

Extract:

Shoppers visiting the St. David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff over the Easter bank holiday weekend will be amazed to find the some of the most innovative public art lining the walls of the new atrium.

Article:

Shoppers visiting the St. David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff over the Easter bank holiday weekend will be amazed to find the some of the most innovative public art lining the walls of the new atrium.

Shoppers visiting the St. David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff over the Easter bank holiday weekend will be amazed to find the some of the most innovative public art lining the walls of the new atrium.

Kathy Dalwood designed the art a year ago and has been making large scale friezes, which will sit inside the atrium, for the past nine months. The art is inspired by Cardiff's Industrial and maritime industries and includes casts from real life objects, such as toy ships, gloves, pineapples, tambourines, scissors, trains, ribbons and ropes all of which have been blown up to fit in the four, nine metre long bulk head friezes.

The art is one of several pieces of public art commissioned by St David's Partnership - a joint venture between Land Securities and Capital Shopping Centres to help transform the city.

Steven Madeley at St. David's Partnership said: 'As part of St David's 2 and the new library we are working to transform Cardiff as a whole for decades to come, it isn't just about the shops, we are providing a new city centre environment. We are investing heavily in transforming the streets with new paving and landscaping and we are also working hard to provide a number of interesting pieces of public art for the people of Cardiff and its visitors to enjoy.

'These new pieces of art are a worthwhile investment which will enhance the city. The collection of contemporary artwork fits in well with Cardiff's reputation as a vibrant and thriving city.'

Kathy's art is a design which comprises of four friezes, each one is nine metres long and is then divided up into nine sections, so there are 36 different giant tiles, each with a different motif, that will be on display in the shopping centre.

Kathy said: 'My design for the shopping centre is a mixture of sculptural type work and functional design. My signature style which has evolved over time is that I indent imagery into a surface, this is different to a number of other artists where their art is a raised surface. The good thing about this type of art is that technology is always evolving meaning that I am able to constantly change and adapt my art to suit. One key element of the art in St. David's is that I have taken ordinary sized objects and moulded them into a cast then used an excellent new technology which allows me to expand these friezes by 60 per cent, it is a bit like a 3D photocopy.

'When looking for inspiration for the art I visited libraries and museums in Cardiff to find out more about what used to be where the shopping centre is now and about the history of the city. During my walks around the city I came across City Hall and was really inspired by the 12 large sculptures which decorate the outside of the building; these were made in 1900 to celebrate the prowess of Cardiff and its influence around the world. Each sculpture tells a different story about the city from its maritime past to its roman and medieval history. I decided to make my sculpture a modern take on these fascinating Victoria sculptures, creating modern real-life casts based on the same imagery as the originals such as fruit, boats, tambourines, gloves and much more.

'I hope people will be inspired through my friezes to go and take a second look at the amazing sculptures at City Hall which pay such brilliant homage to the heritage of Cardiff.'

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