Food Imagination

I try and avoid motorway service areas but just lately I've had to use them because of time constraints and it gives me such annoyance that the public are being short-changed in every way and are votong with their feet and staying away. Last night most of the menu was unavailable and what was on offer was a totally unappetising dried up pie and a fish and chips that looked like it had been cooked in a tub of batter about a week ago. Coffee is priced at almost £3 a cup - breakfast leaves almost no change from £10 if you have a drink with it - the nutritional value of food is not really considered. It's time we had a change! Why not hand over the running of one of these places to catering colleges. Swansea catering students run the restaurant in Singleton Park and do a great value for money job and produce interesting and appetising food with nutrition considered. If you go to France, the food is cooked to order and appears appetising and pretty good value for money. I'm sure the public will return if they feel that they are not being ripped off! healthy food in our bodies will make us all feel better and will in the long run mean that less people are spending time at the doctor and in hospital! rant over! 

Swansea and Photography

January 2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the pioneers of photography, John Dillwyn Llewelyn. We were talking last night at the opening of 'Facing the Future' Open Photography exhibition that it would be fitting to have the anniversary celebrated in some way in Swansea.

Photography was only available to those prominent families who had the wealth to pursue this medium, but it has now developed into an activity in which everyone can participate for a modest outlay on a simple digital or even film camera.

For a period of over 15 years in the Victorian age, Swansea could rightly claim to be in the forefront of some of the pioneering activities to progress photographic techniques and knowledge and it is something well worth a celebration 200 years later!

Forgotten Camera : Remembered Moment

Crowded summer train

Party mood despite some rain

A large group of revellers

Drink-induced animation maybe

Sprawled in standard class posing

Planning their clubbing

No, and why not ?

 

It all changed in a second

Modern communication

Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile – who knows ?

Hand-held phone to one ear,

Stella Artois in the other

‘Michael Jackson’s dead’

Hell, man - you're kidding!

Pinhole in a shoe-box

A rip in the canvas

The moment was frozen

Camera obscura

Punctum maybe

The train just went on though

And talk talk returned

 

All change at Swansea, end of the line

And sadly as it turned out : it was

Don’t leave any baggage behind

Take valuables along

Memories of a hundred parties past

And a hundred more now to come. 

Facing the Future

Image - 'Out Walking - Brecon Beacons' - December 31 2008 (c) Rhys Jones

I'm very pleased to be participating in Elysium Gallery's first Open Photographic Exhibition opening on 11 July 19:00 and running until 8 August. If you can get there, the address is 41 High Street, Swansea - well worth supporting Swansea's main independently run gallery!

Proceed to Part II

Image : Hay Festival May 2009 (c) Rhys Jones

I hope anyone who reads this will forgive a piece of self-indulgence! It's been a long time since I've received any University (or any other for that matter!) exam resuts but I had some today! I've passed Part I of my course MA Photography : Contemporary Dialogues at Swansea Met and can now concentrate on Part II which will be a major project - a piece of public art work and a 7,000 word report. Part I has been a bit of a life-changer for me and to be honest it's not the easiest thing to change completely from doing something the same way for 20 years - a lot of soul-searching and self-doubt but I think it has given me some confidence and new skills. I've been fortunate to have made some good friends with people on a similar quest..so here's to another year when I hope to make the most of an opportunity that doesn't come our way all the time. So I think I'm going to allow myself a little celebration tomorrow night in No Sign Bar in Wind Street, Swansea!

Postcards

I'm working on a new piece of work to develop the 'Postcards to Derrida' exhibit that I had on display at the Bath Festival. I've come across a website called Post Secret which contains some interesting examples where people write their secrets anonymously on a postcard. As part of my project I'm going to be asking people to send postcards with their thoughts - they just send them to me and if they are agreeable they will form part of an exhibit - all anonymous of course. I need to obtain funding for this work.