Hidden Presence

Hidden Presence aims to extend people’s understanding of Nathaniel Wells, an 18th & 19th Century Welsh nobleman of mixed heritage who was son of a Welsh plantation owner and black enslaved woman. The project explores the importance of his life in the context of Wales today, looking at a range of issues linked to individual’s cultural heritage, their identity, sense of belonging, citizenship and what it means to be Welsh. Eva Sajovic is a Slovene born artist photographer, and her focus is on socially engaged, participatory practice. She will be working with schools and groups to develop work around the story of Nathaniel Wells. Many of the contributions on this blog are by Eva and Emma Daman Thomas of Ffotogallery. This is a partnership project by Ffotogallery and Chepstow Museum. Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund http://www.ffotogallery.org/ http://www.hlf.org.uk/

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Celebrating the work, and an amazing effort from the team. Enjoyed every moment!

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Today, after a week of extraordinary work and conversation, the young people staged an exhibition for friends and teachers

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Some amazing work with young women in Cardiff this week

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Working with two girls' groups in Cardiff, exploring portraiture.

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As part of 'What does Piercefield mean to you' event we started to collate photographs, memories and other ephemeral objects related to Piercefield. This is what Chepstow locals brought along tonight. Thank you for the contributions and please get involved and send us more.

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Planning the website.

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11th December - all welcome!

Piercefield - What Does It Mean To You?

Discussion event chaired by Dr Shawn Sobers of University West of England, with Anne Rainsbury, Curator of Chepstow Museum, Ffotogallery and artists Eva Sajovic and Julian Germain.

Join experts and artists to explore the rich history of Chepstow's Piercefield House and Walks and learn about one of Piercefield's most notable residents, the 19th century black landowner Nathaniel Wells. Share your stories of the area with other local residents as we ask what happens to Wells' story now? What is your vision for the future?

You are also invited to bring along any old photographs, cuttings and ephemera relating to Piercefield and your personal memories of the area to be digitised and added to the archive by the Ffotogallery team.

A Hidden Presence project event, produced by Ffotogallery and Chepstow Museum. Selected work made by project participants will be shown.

11th December 2014 / FREE / Drill Hall, Chepstow / All welcome

5.00pm - 6.30pm - Bring Your Memories

6.30 - 8.00pm - Discussion Event.

Bar and refreshments will be available.

  For more information/to RSVP please contact [email protected]

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Photos made with young people as part of the Barnardos exhibition, "Hear Our Voice". Held at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 6th November 2014.

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This week we spent 3 days working with vulnerable young people in South Wales, using portraiture to explore identity and self-expression. Thanks Barnardos Seraf service for working with us on this.

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On Thursday 6th November 2014 we are supporting Barnardo’s Cymru Seraf Service to launch the ‘Hear Our Voice’ project.

The exhibition includes photographic work made by our Barnardos group as part of Hidden Presence, plus music, dance, drama and art. This event is about young people’s experiences of growing up, their relationships, the dangers of sexual exploitation and how through the therapeutic arts they have been able to explore, process and overcome traumatic events.

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Postcards sent to new participants. This is a new group we're working with who have some strong ideas about identity and the portraiture work they would like to make. We're keeping the channels of communication and research open via the post.

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Slavery is closer than you think – new national awareness campaign by the Home Office. Focussing on sexual exploitation, labour and domestic servitude.

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Working with Caldicot school. Day 1: Manipulating printed frames of footage of life in the colonies, animating it, recording sound and discussion of slavery.

Please click on the photo to see more. Photos by Jo Sutton.

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Looking at some of the produce from the colonies.

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By Gaby (Caldicot school).

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A clip from the work produced by Cameron (Caldicot school).

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Working with Caldicot school. Day 1: visiting Piercefield and looking at traces of the past that might help reveal what lies under the surface. Also taking photos according to the principles of the Picturesque. The research collected is later used in the film animation around the themes of slavery, life on the plantations and capital from the colonial trade. 

Please click on the photo to see more. Photos by Fra Beecher.