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The 'Ailfframio' Exhibition

A large collage of representing the slate quarry community is shown on the Barbican at Penrhyn Castle
Community artwork takes over at Penrhyn Castle | © Iolo Penri

A picture paints a thousand words… or does it? An exhibition created by our local community has taken over the Grand Hall at Penrhyn Castle.

Take a look at Henry Hawkins’ depiction of the Penrhyn Quarry. What can you see?

From the men in smart clothing at the forefront of the picture to the labourers dangling precariously in the background, the painting is full of details and inspires conversations and creativity.

This year, while restoring the original frame, we have been ‘Ailfframio’ or literally translated ‘Reframing’ the painting in a new and exciting way, asking the local community for their insights and contributions. From 6 July you will be able to see the outcome.

Creating the exhibition

We invited three community groups to create the new exhibition at Penrhyn Castle:

  • Ex-quarry workers
  • Members of Bethesda's social enterprise group Partneriaeth Ogwen
  • Year 9 art students from Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen

We asked them to respond to Hawkins’ Quarry Painting and participate in workshops with local artists to create the exhibition.

This July, join us as we step into the world of the painting and reflect on one of the sources that sustained the castle’s wealth in the nineteenth century.

Meet the artists

Featuring ceramics, textiles and a large collage the size of the painting itself, the exhibition is bursting with new artworks created by the local community. Meet the artists who hosted workshops that facilitated creative outputs based on the conversations the community groups have had in response to the painting.

Artist Rhiannon Gwyn is pictured in the Dining Room at Penrhyn Castle
Ceramics artist Rhiannon Gwyn | © Iolo Penri

Rhiannon Gwyn

Rhiannon Gwyn is an artist working mainly with ceramics and slate. Having developed an innovative technique of melting and shaping Welsh slate through high firing in the kiln, Rhiannon displays the melted slate alongside handmade ceramic bowls, all painted with a glaze made from natural materials such as gorse flower and slate. She was raised in Sling, near Bethesda, a place that continues to strongly influence her creative practice. Her practice delves into the profound connections between humans and landscapes, examining how materials serve as identity markers and influence self-perception and worldview through the emotional and mnemonic imprints on surroundings. Rhiannon worked with the ex-quarry workers to create ceramics that reflects the cultural wealth of the area. From the sound of the hobnail boots still walking to work, to the ropes that held the men on the rock’s surface, the history and vocabulary of the quarry are presented through the pottery made by the group who worked with Rhiannon. On each piece as dark as the belly of the rock, Welsh names of galleries, tools and other words associated with the quarry are stamped and gilded. Although the great wealth the Pennant family received at the expense of Jamaican enslaved people and local quarry workers is repugnant and still bitter to many, and the scars of working conditions still hurt, the Welsh language, community pride and humour shine on in the Ogwen Valley. This is our wealth.

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Historical Background

Penrhyn Castle has an inextricable link to the Penrhyn Slate Quarry and its community in the quarrying town of Bethesda. The labour of these quarry men sustained the wealth found in the castle, and in the same regard the Pennant family of Penrhyn Castle’s investment transformed the scale, landscape and lifestyle found in the quarry.

Henry Hawkins’ depiction of the Penrhyn Slate Quarry is one of the most important paintings in our collections at Penrhyn Castle as it is a visible reminder of this connection.

It dates from 1832, a period of boom for the quarry, both financially and culturally. However, even though this period was decades before the Great Strike of Penrhyn Quarry or any significant industrial disputes, the working conditions were still incredibly dangerous, with injuries and death a constant threat, and the capitalist system in place meant there were extreme class disparities.

The ‘Ailfframio’ exhibition launches on 6 July and can be seen in the Grand Hall at Penrhyn Castle and Garden.

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