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Maelfa

Spike Island | 04.01.2011 17:27

a new exhibition by Sean Edwards
Maelfa is a show of mixed-media work by Sean Edwards, an emerging Welsh artist, which explores the legacy of ambitious but problematic Modernism-influenced community planning projects through one such development, the Maelfa Shopping Centre on the outskirts of Cardiff where the artist grew up.
Maelfa
a solo exhibition by Sean Edwards
Saturday 22 January – Sunday 10 April
Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX
Free entrance

Spike Island presents a new exhibition by Welsh artist Sean Edwards which takes the Maelfa Shopping Centre in the Llanedeyrn suburb of Cardiff as its focus.

Built in the 1970s to serve the surrounding council estate, the Maelfa centre was intended to serve as a vibrant community hub. Like many living and shopping centres of its kind around the country, though, people’s use of it has declined steadily over the last few decades. In 2007 it was decided that Maelfa would be demolished to make way for a new development, but the recession has put these plans on hold and the centre still continues to function with only about half of the spaces occupied.

Sean Edwards grew up there, using the centre’s shops, library and community centre on an almost daily basis, and he recently returned for a three month period to make new work for this exhibition. He has used photographs, drawings, models and film to investigate and document Maelfa’s different layers in a contemplative and nostalgic way.

This exhibition offers an opportunity to question how and why places such as the Maelfa Shopping Centre, which were intended to be a centre of community life but are now nearly abandoned, have failed to live up to the Modernist ideal on which they were based. It challenges us to think about and discuss what kind of buildings and spaces we want to live in.

We will also be hosting a series of talks and discussions related to this exhibition, including:

Wednesday 26 January, 6pm: Lynsey Hanley
The author of 'Estates: an intimate history' will discuss her experience of growing up on the Wood council estate in Birmingham and her own research into economic and social segregation.

Wednesday 9 February, 6pm: Owen Hatherley
The author of A' Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain' and 'Militant Modernism' will discuss his writing on Modernism and its impact on architecture, culture and urban life.

The exhibition is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm, and entrance is free. Tickets for the talks are £4 full, £2 concessions and can be reserved by calling 0117 929 2266 or emailing admin@spikeisland.org.uk.

Please contact us on 0117 929 2266 or admin@spikeisland.org.uk or visit www.spikeisland.org.uk for more information.


Spike Island
- Original article on IMC Bristol: http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/702712