An upcoming exhibition will use film and sound to create a fusion of the past and present through the unlikely prism of a disused granite quarry, inspired by the artist’s AHRC funded research.

Dr Ruth Jones is an AHRC research fellow at the University of the West of England in Bristol. The exhibition, entitled ‘Chwarel (Quarry)’, is a collaborative audio-visual project between Dr Jones and fellow artist Andrea Williams, and focuses on the disused Porthgain granite quarry in Pembrokeshire. It is to be held at the Howard Gardens Gallery in Cardiff from the 16th to the 20th of February.

Visitors will view a 360-degree panoramic film which presents a juxtaposition of the overgrown modern quarry, now reclaimed by nature, with its past use as a site of intense industry.  One particularly striking and original image from the film is a recreation of a photograph of quarry workers, taken in 1908. The artists replicated the original image using local volunteers in period dress, with nearly 70 people from the area taking part. This also helped reveal people with links to the quarry, including the granddaughter of one Mr. Crone, who was its manager for over 30 years.

The final installation will use both 5:1 surround sound and directional speakers, with the intention being to use sound as much as image to evoke the quarry’s history. By paying attention to the minutiae of sounds, and our ability to construct meaning from sound even when we don't see its source, the artists hope to conjure a sense of physically being in the quarry, yet suspended in time, somewhere between the present and the past.

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AHRC Media Contact Tom Chlebik: t.chlebik@ahrc.ac.uk  Tel: 0117 9876 816

Notes to editors:
Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

‘Chwarel (Quarry)’ will be held at the Howard Gardens Gallery at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) from the 16th to the 20th of February 2010. There will be a public opening on Thursday the 18th of February from 6.30 to 8.30 pm. For more information about the exhibition, or about Ruth Jones’ work, visit www.ruthjonesart.co.uk.