reverberations

site generated works in response to 2 locations in Swansea for Locws International 2002

developed in response to the histories, environment and present day experiences of two locations in Swansea..

the River Tawe & the Helwick Lightship

a re-echoing of sound, a reflecting of light etc.,
subjection to the action of a reverbatory furnace,
something reverberated.
Longman English Dictionary 1968

The work in response to the River Tawe and the Helwick lightship are drawn together under the title “reverberations”.

The River Tawe and the inhabitants of the Lower Swansea Valley were directly affected by the pollution from the reverberatory furnaces utilised for smelting.

In terms of Helwick Lightship, it refers to the sounding of the fog horn as a warning to seafarers in extreme weather conditions. The crew were exposed to this deafening sound in tumultuous seas for long periods of time.

__________________________________________________
Locws International staged two citywide arts events that saw international and UK-based artists create new temporary site-specific artworks in prominent venues across the City of Swansea in South Wales, UK in 2000 and 2002

CATALOGUE: Locws International ISBN 0-9545291-0-3

for further information see PDF(s):

Reverberations (186KB)

2 locations in Swansea

The Helwick Lightship (194KB)

project details

River Tawe (225KB)

project details

context:
The Helwick Lightship: Light Vessel No 91

The Helwick, now docked beside the Maritime Museum in Swansea, was once situated on the Helwick sand bank, 10 miles off Mumbles Head in the Bristol Channel.

The vessel is an extraordinary homage to
the craftsmanship and mechanics of its time.

stills from the Lightship

It is designed to accommodate seamen to carry out the task of communicating the perils of dangerous waters in severe weather conditions. Seven seamen lived for a month at a time, in the isolation of wild seas & deafening fog signals

‘Its high note jarred my nerves and shattered my eardrums almost, while the low note seemed to loosen every tooth in my head. Conversation was cut to a minimum, being conducted in monosyllables between blasts of the siren. All this for twopence an hour extra on our wages’

George Goldsmith Carter

3 soundscapes
for Light Vessel No 91: Helwick Lightship
Maritime Museum, Swansea, Wales
7-29 Sept 2002

In this work..
Annie Lovejoy preserves traditional skills and stories by giving them a public voice;

Conversations with Fred

…capturing enchanting sea tales from Fred Evans, who for some eighteen years has maintained the Helwick Lightship. On board, his stories reverberate through the air vents; ghost stories, shanty tales of sailors jumping ship and burning in their bunks…’

with Fred Evans

Fred calls himself ‘a nine to five sailor’ when describing his work maintaining the lightship. In his spare time he plays the piano and studies homeopathy, this project is inspired by his invaluable insight and friendship.

Letters to Denote the State of the Weather

..But the ship also holds less sinister stories, a muffled broadcast of welsh and English voices from the opposite deck recounting the helwick’s system for logging the weather from B for unbothered blue skies (awyr las) to Z for hazy (tes). One voice sounds clearly, I can’t see any more.

‘letters to denote the state of the weather’

A framed chart on the wall of the radio room details the method used to log the weather conditions. Translated into Welsh this is voiced by local people, enhancing the poetic nature of the weather descriptions.

voices: Steve Darling, Tim Davies, Elen Morris, Karl Morris, Heather Pearce,Nia Roberts, Linda Shickell, Steve Williams

Radio

..the weather is thickening I hide in the radio room, where I am for once comforted by communication; the voices of Swansea Amateur Radio Society exchanging weather and navigational information with people on lightships and in lighthouses world-wide.

On International Lighthouse Day, August 18th 2002, Swansea Amateur Radio Society were invited by Annie to be on board the Helwick to communicate with Lighthouses & Lightships worldwide.

Swansea Amateur Radio Society on board for International Lighthose day

text in italics: ‘Longshore Drift’ by Emma Safe.
Locws International Catalogue

for further information see PDF(s):

The Helwick Lightship (194KB)

project details

context: The River Tawe

The River Tawe reveals the histories and present day realities of the Lower Swansea Valley.

The local community and city of Swansea have reclaimed the riverbanks & neighbouring land, previously poisoned by the industrial waste from tin, zinc, and copper. Plants, trees and wildlife now thrive where before nothing would grow.

‘The Swansea smelters developed great skill in the construction and management of the reverbatory, and found it particularly suitable to the great variety of finely pulverised ores of every conceivable composition, which reached their port from all parts of the world…..The Vivians’ Hafod tip, was reputed to be one of the highest copper slag tips in Wales, and covered a five hectacre site alongside houses specially built for the workers.’

‘By the 1930s the river, which had given the valley, its life, now ran like a sewer.’

‘The hardy moss clings to, and even thrives on soilless rock. It dies on the copper slag bank.’

‘New Land for Old.’

The Environmental Renaissance of the Lower Swansea Valley.

Stephen J Lavendar, University College of Swansea. 1981

The River Tawe Video

‘a lyrical and yet political journey’
(Tim Davies & David Hastie:Locws Catalogue)

The River Tawe video takes us on a journey through time – compressing a 45min boat trip through the Lower Swansea Valley. This contemplative journey through the historic industrial landscape ends with a poetic and moving performance by the Welsh concert harpist, Nia Jenkins.

from Swansea harbour

‘Journeying up river we pass the Hafod works where Swansea Museum archive footage infiltrates with voices from the past… “you know our names; Morris, Mackworth, Villiers, Vivian, Dillwyn, Grenfell..” the towns and cities streets named after them, their faces fade and the river flows on..under the bridge, creaking and dripping and onwards up river through burgeoning banks replenished & vibrant with growth.’
Emma Safe. ‘Longshore Drift’ Locws Catalogue text

‘you know our names…’ archive footage mix

The fizz of the oxygenators breathe new life into the river, where once nothing would live.. now there are fish breeding, flowers growing, birds fly across our path…

regenerate the river

for further information see PDF(s):

River Tawe (225KB)

project details

River tawe, a contemporary waste

.. we move onwards as far as the boat can go before being too shallow and too crowded with new waste. A contemporary dumping ground of cars & supermarket trolleys..

to find ourselves mesmerised by rippling harp strings and reflective patterns of light as Nia plays Hasselmans ‘La source’ a tribute to the river.

the journey ends

submerged..

‘you could look at it as a way of bringing back the poetry of beauty to Hafod, the area of the city that was at the heart of the industries here, and is now very depressed.

Hafod is remembered in recent history for its enormous slag heap of poisonous waste. However in the 18th century it was considered one of the most beautiful spots in Wales (the name means ‘Summer Meadow’). Poems were written to the beauty of the place, the most famous of which reads;

‘Delightful Hafod, most serene abode, Thou sweet retreat, fit mansion for a God.’ Andrew Deathe, Swansea Museum.