14 April @ 19:00 - 26 May @ 17:00

Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Church Lane, Carmrthen SA31 1LH

"My work is about impermanence…”

For his exhibition at Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Swansea based artist, Jonathan Anderson is showing a series of works each entitled 'Coal Dust Mandala'

The term is both descriptive and mysterious. Each small work is produced using layers of coal dust on grounds of found material such as plywood, cardboard and sandpaper. The simplicity of the image is deceptive; it acts as a meditative device for him, both marking time and concentrating awareness.

The Mandala in Buddhism and Hinduism, is a geometric or pictorial design usually enclosed in a circle, representing the entire universe and used in meditation and ritual. In Jungian psychology, it is a symbol representing the self and inner harmony.

Anderson’s work is exemplified by his preoccupation with coal as both a metaphor and medium. Coal is made from ancient carbon deposit; it could be seen to represent both our beginning, and ultimately our end. Additionally in the context of South Wales, it is loaded with socio-political symbolism. Anderson counter-balances its emotive legacy with the mysterious beauty of its actual substance; its seductive shimmering darkness. Through the almost ritualistic production and techniques of their making, the works take on a transcendent and poetic power.

“Mandalas and coal might equally be seen as power generators: one in the realm of the spirit and psyche, the other in the realm of human industry and technology…These contemporary mandalas of discarded debris and dust are not perfectly harmonious wholes but fragmentary, damaged and asymmetrical, perhaps fitting analogies for our present reality.”

Dr Alison Joy Sleeman - UCL Slade School of Fine Art

 

“Does dim byd yn para am byth …”

 

Ar gyfer ei arddangosfa yn Oriel Myrddin, mae’r artist o Abertawe Jonathan Anderson yn dangos cyfres o weithiau, bob un dan y pennawd Mandala Llwch Glo. Mae’r term y ddisgrifiadol ac yn ddirgel ar yr un pryd. Caiff pob gwaith bychan ei greu drwy ddefnyddio haenau o lwch glo ar sylfaen o ddefnydd y cafwyd hyd iddo, fel pren haenog, cardfwrdd a phapur tywod. Mae symlrwydd y ddelwedd yn dwyllodrus; mae’n ddyfais fyfyriol i’r artist, yn nodi treigl amser ac yn canolbwyntio’r ymwybod.