“dim ond un lle arall, yna sha thre”

Mae “dim ond un lle arall, yna sha thre” yn arddangosfa o sleidiau taith a gymerwyd gan ffotograffydd anhysbys mewn gwyliau ar dir mawr Ewrop yn y 1950au a'r 60au. Wedi'u canfod wedi'u trefnu'n daclus mewn blwch pren pwrpasol, ac wedi'u nodi gyda dyddiadau a lleoliadau, maent yn ein hatgoffa am gyfnod pan oedd ffotograffiaeth analog nid yn unig yn brofiad mwy cyffredin, ond hefyd yn un dethol, gyda dim mwy na dwsin o luniau wedi'u tynnu ym mhob lleoliad, a ddewiswyd yn ofalus i gostrelu awyrgylch gwyliau haf a newydd-deb teithio tramor, rhywbeth nad oedd ond yn dechrau dod ar gael i ran ehangach o gymdeithas Prydain ar y pryd. Mae rhywbeth y gellir ei adnabod yn syth ac, i rai, gysylltu â nhw yn y ffordd mae ein ffotograffydd yn pwyntio'r camera at y golygfeydd newydd: pwll nofio awyr agored, lle mae'r dŵr a'r aer yn ddigon twym i beidio gwneud i chi grynu, ond ymlacio'n hapus yn yr haul; coed palmwydd a pherthi olewydd; gwahanol ddillad, tirluniau a phensaernïaeth; pethau y byddem wedi bod eisiau eu gweld ein hunain. Wrth edrych ar y delweddau nawr, rydym hefyd yn teithio i'r cyfnod pan oedd twristiaid yn gwisgo eu dillad dydd Sul i deithio; pan allech weld caeau'n dal i gael eu haredig gan anifeiliaid; a phan oedd natur Ewrop yn gymharol ddilychwin.

Mae ymdeimlad o dristwch ar sut y gorffennodd y casgliad yma lan mewn arwerthiant cist ceir,  rhywbeth bach i gofio hafau hapus sydd nawr ar goll neu'n ddieisiau. Er y bydd y cwestiwn hwn yn parhau heb ei ddatrys, gobeithiwn y bydd yn annog y sawl sy'n eu gweld i edrych eto ar eu harchifau teuluol, neu i werthfawrogi gwerth ffotograffau dienw fel rhain.

Daw'r sleidiau o gasgliad Dawson Thomas, sy'n garedig iawn wedi eu benthyg iddynt ar gyfer yr arddangosfa.

"dim ond un lle arall, wedyn sha thre" yw'r gyntaf mewn cyfres o 9 arddangosfa y bydd prosiect *kickplate* yn eu trefnu yn 2020 ym Mrynmawr, Rhymni, Fochriw ac Abersychan, diolch i gefnogaeth Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru a Cwm a Mynydd, a chydweithrediad gyda'n lleoliadau partner.

"just one more stop, then home"

“just one more stop, then home” is an exhibition of travel slides taken by an unknown photographer during holidays in continental Europe in the 1950s and 60s. Found neatly arranged in a wooden purpose-made box, and marked with dates and locations, they are a reminder of the times when analogue photography was not only a more common experience, but also a selective one, with no more than a dozen shots taken at each location, carefully chosen to capture the atmosphere of a summer vacation and the novelty of foreign travel, something that was only becoming available to a wider part of the British society at the time. There’s something immediately recognisable and, for some, relatable in the way our photographer points the camera at the new sights: an open-air swimming pool, where the water and the air are warm enough not to make you shiver, but to lounge happily in the sun; palm trees and olive groves; different clothes, landscapes and architecture; things we would have wanted to capture ourselves. Looking at the images now, we also travel to the times when tourists wore their Sunday best while travelling; when you could still see fields being ploughed by animals; and when European nature was relatively unspoilt.

  

There’s a sense of sadness at how this collection ended up at a car-boot sale, a keepsake of happy summers now lost or unwanted. While this question will remain unsolved, we hope it will encourage our viewers to look again at their family archives, or to appreciate the value of anonymous photographs such as these.

The slides come from the collection of Dawson Thomas, who kindly lent them to us for the exhibition.

“just one more stop, then home” is the first in the series of 9 exhibitions that will be organised in 2020 by the*kickplate*project in Brynmawr, Rhymney, Fochriw and Abersychan, thanks to support from the Arts Council of Wales and Cwm a Mynydd, and cooperation with our partner venues. 

You can also follow our project updates on instagram, twitter and facebook.

Welsh info coming soon!

2020 Valleys' Project

Dear all,

We're back with a new project after a break! 

This year, we're doing something different to what we usually do - we're going to tour a programme of 9 exhibitions across 4 venues in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Torfaen. We'll post more information about each venue soon, but for now, we'd like to let you know that our first show is opening in Brynmawr's Market Hall Cinema next week.

"just one more stop, then home" features a collection of travel slides taken by an unknown photographer in the 1950s and 60s during holidays in continental Europe. The exhibition will be up from Wednesday, the 22nd of January, with a small event on Friday the 24th at 1 o'clock, and will run until the 12th of February - more info coming soon!

We'd like to thank the Arts Council of Wales, Cwm a Mynydd and our partner venues for making our 2020 Valleys' Project possible.

we're back!

Dear all,

We were away for a while, but now we're back and have been plotting new projects for 2020! 

For now, we'd like to let you know that two installations by our project's Zosia Krasnowolska, designed for and made with support from madeinroath festival 2015 and 2016, are now on display again. 

"I could have this on my wall" is up in Plasnewydd Community Garden, Cardiff (just by Shelley Gardens, Milton Street), for the foreseeable future - in winter, the garden is open on Saturdays only, but the banner is also visible from the outside, so have a look if you're in the area! 

The second installation, "slant of light", made in collaboration with Russian photographer Andrew Pershin, is displayed in Hafod Deg Resource Centre, Rhymney, Caerphilly, till early January.

You can find Andrew's work on his page and Instagram.

We're planning to run new projects in the Valleys from January, 

so expect new updates soon!