Artist Statement

I am a multi-disciplinary artist who has a personal art practice alongside creative workshop facilitation. The media I use within my personal practice depends on the project/ piece. This could be clay, painting, drawing, or other types of media. I naturally gravitate towards making work that tells a story with underlying, deeper meaning. Previous examples of my work include manipulating acetate sheets to convey how my dyslexia affects me on a day-to-day basis, and a creative access resource for the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, based on Roman Mythology of the Goddess Aurora. In addition to telling my own stories, I enjoy exploring those of others and this forms the participatory nature of my work.

For this exhibition, I wanted to explore books that people love, whether they are well known or not. This was inspired by the book stall in the Pontypridd Market Quarter, ‘Interbooks’. In particular, I wanted to focus on the feeling of escapism that people get when reading a book. There are three books or book series that I have chosen to respond to, these were selected from recommendations directly received from the public. These are: Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Series, Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant Series, and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.

I wanted to create a sense of escape into the world of the books for a little while, much like the feeling of being immersed in the labyrinth-like corridors of ‘Interbooks’. The films re-create the experience of perusing the bookshelves, during which the public will discover three, unassuming peephole books. As you peer through the peephole on the spine, a scene in the form of a diorama will come into focus, based on the aforementioned, recommended books. The dioramas have been made from materials that I have had around the house while in lockdown. These films have been overlaid with atmospheric soundscapes, readings aloud of excerpts from each book, and I have provided some more detailed photographs in addition.

I invite you to use the activity sheets provided to create your own peephole book diorama for your favourite book. Once completed, please share your book diorama on Instagram using the hashtag #jpbookecsape.