This summer, I went back to Pembrokeshire, staying in some places I had been too. I knew it was going to be exciting as I walked over a lot of the area in my research about Graham Sutherland and his work in the 80's. Picton Castle had created a gallery to show some of his later work there, but due to poor construction, the paintings deteriorated over time and the gallery was closed. These pieces of work were taken under the control of the National Museum of Wales and disappeared from view.
There was talk to of opening a new gallery on the A40 to make it more accessible to the general public and the possibility of opening another gallery at St Davids (the smallest city in the UK). Latterly, I discovered that this new gallery had been opened and had some of Sutherland's work on display beside other artists who had lived and worked in the area.
Having been away from this part of Wales for a decade or more, I had knew what to expect, but when you get there. It was like discovering the whole place over again. If I was on my own, I would have come back with a lot more work, but time dictated that I was busy in other areas. As has been mentioned before this part of Wales is very similar to Cornwall. This article appeared a month or two ago, and I would pick West Wales over Cornwall any day. The difference across the landscape is staggering moving from the rugged moor like landscape to the intimate coast rivers with hidden stretches of the river bank.
On a trip to Skomer Island, a small island off the coast of the Marloes area of the Pembrokeshire coast, which was a bird sanctuary as well with only the wardens living on it. I was surprised that there was wings of birds with the carcasses gone. Later found that there was a peregrine falcon that haunted the island as well preying on the rabbits as there were some skeletons lying around. The birds' wings reminded me of shorn wings by angels in stepping down to earth. Islands had a mystical quality in Celtic mythology being associated with the 'otherworld'. The placed did have a unique atmosphere to it.
Sutherland had become to incorporate both animals and people into this work and seeing this lost wings, made me wonder if these remains had started the process.
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