Studio Cybi are the first of five especially commissioned artistic responses to the contemporary artworks in the national collection and Storiel’s collections that will be shown over the next few months at Storiel.

Studio Cybi, Lapiwch o a'i werthu yn ôl i fi ©Studio Cybi / Storiel 

As part of the national contemporary art gallery Wales project, Storiel is excited to have commissioned five artworks that respond creatively to Storiel’s collections as well as contemporary art from the national collection, many of which can be seen on Celf ar y Cyd. The commissioned artists are Studio Cybi, Christine Mills, Audrey West, Carreg Creative and Rachel Evans. Each artist in turn, will display their work for five weeks within a display cabinet, loaned by the artist Gareth Griffith which is located near the stairs on Storiel’s ground floor.

Lapiwch o a’i werthu yn ôl i fi: A new commission

Studio Cybi often explore ideas of ownership, labour and poverty, via the history of land. This commission provided them with an opportunity to excavate further their thoughts on art, agency and equity, drawing from Spinoza’s concept of interconnectedness. They are currently interested in subterranean cultural signifiers, the underbelly. The commission asks questions around language, imperialism, monarchy and land ownership, pointing toward the importance of engaging with who we are within the constant shifting of societal frameworks. The protest badges displayed in Storiel open a window into our cultural history, language and our need for protest. Frink’s Dying King serves as a preliminary sketch for a sculpture, drawing inspiration from archetypes surrounding masculinity and monarchy. From these components Studio Cybi have produced a textile banner which is filmed hanging in Penrhos Nature Reserve, the audio combines altered birdsong also recorded there and a poem. The work titled, Lapiwch o a’i werthu yn ôl i fi that Studio Cybi have produced is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of universal issues of power, ownership, politics, access and commodification of land using the specific site of Penrhos Nature Reserve in Anglesey, which is currently under threat.

The work by Studio Cybi embodies the idea of the commissions which is to explore what the national contemporary art gallery for Wales could mean for each artist and their local community. There is total flexibility of how this is approached and through what medium – the main constraint being the case size and shelves for displaying the final work. The creative processes and outputs of which will contribute to the ongoing development of the national contemporary art gallery for Wales.

Reflecting specific interests

Whether the artwork is stimulated in response to an artwork or artist represented in the national collection or an item from Storiel’s museum collections, or both, like Studio Cybi, the artists’ responses will reflect specific interest of their practice – whether relevant to the artist’s community, landscape or cultural heritage. Starting from initial ideas or starting points from the national collection, I am looking forward to seeing the various approaches employed by each artist and the final works.

The Cabinet Exhibition dates are:

• Studio Cybi: 11/05/24 – 15/06/24
• Christine Mills: 22/06/24 – 26/07/24
• Audrey West: 03/08/24 – 07/09/24
• Carreg Creative: 14/09/24 – 19/10/24
• Rachel Evans: 26/10/24 – 30/11/24