18th - 22th of November 2022
St. Tudor’s Church (Mynyddislwyn), Blackwood, NP12 2BG
Opening event: 18th November 2022 6pm
Historical walk: 19th November 10am (Details)
The Faculty Divine
St Tudor's, a grade-II listed church located high on a mountain top in remote, south Wales, is to host a powerful exhibition about the sacred force of nature. "The Faculty Divine" brings together William "Islwyn" Thomas, the 19th century Welsh poet and Methodist minister and Fergus Thomas, a contemporary photographer.
When Fergus Thomas first moved to a small village in Caerphilly from London in the autumn of 2021, he was deeply affected by the surrounding natural landscape.
"I am very grateful to this remote, wooded valley. There's something very special about spending hours absorbed in its sights and sounds."
He discovered another artist had felt the force of the same landscape, some 170 years earlier: William "Islwyn" Thomas, the poet and Methodist minister. His best-known poem is "Y Storm" ("The Storm") written after the sudden death of his fiancee in 1853, at the age of 20. The poem, over 9000 lines long, talks of the sacred animating force that flows through nature whilst grappling with existential questions around mourning, death and spirituality.
It is through this lens that Fergus Thomas began making images of the Sirhowy valley, soon gravitating to the river that runs through it. For Fergus, the river was essential to the vitality of the natural world, but also bears the scars of the heavy industrial history of the region.
St Tudor's Church, situated on Mynyddislwyn, the mountain near Islwyn's home and the name he took as a poet, is to showcase Fergus Thomas' large-scale photographs of the Sirhowy valley and river. In the sacred space of the church, both men's work come together. This extraordinary exhibition is perhaps best understood not as a solo show, but as the multi-layered response of two artists to a very particular place.
"We're so excited to be opening up our church as the centre for this exhibition. We hope it will encourage young people to be involved in the history of this area, which is plentiful. We welcome the modern world as well, and in Fergus' photographs there is a powerful feeling of flowing from the past to the present and onto the future."
Elizabeth Tomlin, church warden, St Tudor's Church
"It's brilliant that this exhibition is bringing to life the work of a largely forgotten Welsh poet."
Dr David Hale, historian
The Faculty Divine will host an opening event at 6pm - 8pm on the 18th of November, At St Tudor's Church, Mynyddislwyn, Blackwood, NP12 2BG.
The exhibition will then be showing until the 22 of November 2022 with hours of 10am - 4pm. An expanded version will later open in CUTVR Lab, Cardiff, where The Faculty Divine will be displayed alongside previous work made by Fergus Thomas in Wales.
Curated by Isaac Blease with art direction by Alejandro Actin (IC visual lab).
Both exhibitions are supported by the Arts Council of Wales, the Cwm a Mynydd Rural Development Programme for Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent through the Welsh Governments Rural Communities Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.
Dr David Hale will be leading an historical walk of the Sirhowy Valley on 19 November; meet in the Sirhowy Valley country carpark at 10am.
Main entrance is signposted off the A4048 at Crosskeys. By bus - Service 56 Newport to Tredegar. By bike - Route 47 NCN. Nearest train station - Crosskeys (16 minute walk).
Fergus Thomas
Fergus Thomas is a British photographer based in Wales. A graduate of documentary photography, Newport, South Wales, his long-term photographic bodies of work explore the intersection between nature and culture. His project "Colville" was published in Granta magazine, long-listed for the Magnum graduate award, exhibited at Warsaw photo-days, in Poland and in the Ian parry scholarship exhibition in London. His work has featured in the Telegraph magazine. His most recent exhibition was a group show in Newport Lab, in September 2021. He currently lectures at the University of South Wales.
William "Islwyn" Thomas
William Thomas was born in Ynysddu, a small village in the Sirhowy valley, Monmouthshire (now Caerphilly) in 1832. A Methodist minister, he has been described as one of the greatest Welsh poets of the 19th century. Islwyn won four bardic chairs and two other prizes for his poetry in local Eisteddfods. Although he never had a chapel of his own, he was a regular preacher at Babel Chapel, Cwmfelinfach and is buried in the chapel's church yard, after his death in 1878, at the age of 46.
The Storm
"Its voice exalts like a trumpet on the hill,
And the vale harkens
While trembling like a bough on a torrent right then.
Do you tremble? Come, listen undaunted,
It’s natures voice on high,
Nature who’s singing our anthem to us."
St Tudor's Church
There has been a church on the site of St Tudor's for at least 900 years. St Tudor's was the "mother" or lead church of the area in the 19th century and Islwyn was a regular visitor. Today, the church houses the bardic chair awarded to Islwyn at the Eisteddford Treherbert in 1877, for his poem, "Y Nefoedd" ( "The Heavens") .
Y Divine Gyfundeb
Cynhelir arddangosfa rymus am gryfder cysegredig natur yn Eglwys Sant Tudur, eglwys restredig gradd-II a leolir ar gopa mynydd anghysbell yn ne Cymru. Daw The Faculty Divine â’r bardd a gweinidog Methodistaidd o’r 19eg ganrif, William Thomas neu Islwyn, a’r ffotograffydd cyfoes, Fergus Thomas, at ei gilydd.
Pan symudodd Fergus Thomas i bentref bach yng Nghaerffili o Lundain yn yr hydref 2021, fe’i heffeithiwyd yn ddwfn gan y dirwedd naturiol o’i gwmpas.
“Rwyf yn ddiolchgar iawn i’r cwm coediog, anghysbell hwn. Mae rhywbeth arbennig iawn am dreulio oriau’n ymdeimlo ei olygfeydd a’i synau.
Darganfyddodd e fod rhywun arall wedi cael ei ysbrydoli gan gryfder yr un dirwedd tua 170 o flynyddoedd yn gynt: William Thomas neu Islwyn, y bardd a gweinidog Methodistaidd. Y Storm yw ei gerdd fwyaf adnabyddus a gyfansoddwyd yn dilyn marwolaeth annisgwyl ei ddyweddi yn 1853, yn 20 mlwydd oed. Sonia’r gerdd, sydd â thros 9000 llinell, am y grym cysegredig, bywiog sydd yn llifo trwy natur ac ar yr un pryd yn ceisio cael gafael ar gwestiynau dirfodol am alar, marwolaeth ac ysbrydolrwydd.
Dechreuodd Fergus Thomas dynnu delweddau cwm Sirhywi trwy’r lens hon, ac yn fuan, fe’i tynnwyd at yr afon gerllaw. I Fergus, mae’r afon yn hanfodol i fywoliaeth y byd o’i chwmpas, ond ar yr un pryd yn cludo creithiau hanes diwydiant trwm yr ardal.
Mabwysiadodd William Thomas ei enw barddol o enw'r mynydd uwchben ei gartref sef Mynyddislwyn a lleolir Eglwys Sant Tudur ar y mynydd hwn. Arddangosir lluniau mawr Fergus Thomas o’r cwm a’r afon ym man cysegredig yr eglwys, yn tynnu gwaith y ddau ddyn at ei gilydd. Efallai y deallir yr arddangosfa hon fel ymateb aml-haenol dau artist i le arbennig iawn yn hytrach na fel sioe un dyn.
“Rydym mor gyffrous i agor ein heglwys i’r arddangosfa hon. Gobeithio y bydd yn tynnu pobl ifanc mewn i ymddiddori yn hanes yr ardal hon; hanes sydd mor helaeth. Rydym yn croesawu’r byd modern hefyd, ac yn lluniau Fergus mae teimlad grymus o lif o’r gorffennol i’r presennol ac ymlaen i’r dyfodol.” Elizabeth Tomlin, warden yr eglwys,
Eglwys Sant Tudur.
“Mae’n wych bod yr arddangosfa hon yn bywiogi gwaith bardd bod y rhan fwyaf o bobl wedi’i anghofio.”
Dr David Hale, hanesydd.
Bydd The Faculty Divine yn Eglwys Sant Tudur, Mynyddislwyn, Coed Duon, NP12 2BG rhwng 18 a 22 Tachwedd 2022. Egyr fersiwn fwy yn CUTVR Lab, Caerdydd lle arddangosir The Faculty Divine ynghyd â gwaith arall a wnaed gan Fergus Thomas yng Nghymru.
Curad y ddwy arddangosfa fydd Isaac Blease a Chyfarwyddwr Celf fydd Alejandro Acin (IC visual lab).
Cefnogir y ddwy arddangosfa gan Gynghor y Celfyddau Cymru a’r Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig Caerffili a Blaenau Gwent Cwm a Mynydd trwy Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig Cymunedau Gwledig 2014-2020 Lywodraeth Cymru
Tywysir taith gerdded hanesyddol gan Dr David Hale yng Nghwm Sirhywi ar 19 Tachwedd; cwrdd ym maes parcio Parc Gwledig Cwm Sirhywi am 10yb.
I gyrraedd y parc - mae arwyddion at y brif fynedfa o'r A4048 yn Crosskeys. Ar fws - Gwasanaeth 56 Casnewydd i Dredegar. Ar feic - Llwybr 47 y Rhwydwaith Beicio Cenedlaethol. Ar drên - Yr orsaf drenau agosaf yw Crosskeys (16 munud o gerdded)
Fergus Thomas
Ffotograffydd Prydeinig wedi’i leoli yng Nghymru yw Fergus Thomas. Gŵr graddedig mewn ffotograffiaeth ddogfennol o Gasnewydd, de Cymru, archwilia ei waith ffotograffig hir dymor y croestoriad rhwng natur a diwylliant. Cyhoeddwyd ei brosiect “Coalville” yn y cylchgrawn Granta. Hefyd fe’i rhestrwyd am wobr Magnum a’i harddangoswyd yn nyddiau-lluniau yn Warsaw, Gwlad Pwyl ac yn arddangosfa ysgoloriaeth Ian Parry yn Llundain. Mae ei waith wedi’i gyhoeddi yng nghylchgrawn Telegraph. Sioe grŵp fu ei arddangosfa ddiwethaf yn Newport Lab. Darlithydd yw e gyda Phrifysgol De Cymru.
William Thomas – Islwyn
Ganwyd William Thomas yn Ynysddu, pentref bach yng nghwm Sirhywi, sir Fynwy (Caerffili bellach) yn 1823. Bu gweinidog Methodistaidd a ddisgrifiwyd fel yn o feirdd mwyaf y 19eg ganrif. Enillodd Islwyn bedair cadair a day wobr arall am ei farddoniaeth mewn eisteddfodau lleol. Er nad oedd ganddo ei gaped ei hunan, pregethodd yn aml yng Nghapel y Babell, Cwmfelinfach a’i claddwyd ym mynwent y capel ar ôl iddo farw ym 1878, yn 46 mlwydd oed.
Y Storm
"Fel utgorn dyrchafaf ei llais ar y bryn,
A gwrendy y glyn
Dan grynu fel colfen ar raiadr bryd hyn.
A wyt tithau yn crynu? Tyrd,gwrando yn hy,
Llais natur sy fry,
A natur sy'n canu ein hanthem i ni."
Eglwys Sant Tudur
Mae eglwys ar safle Sant Tudur ers o leiaf 900 mlynedd. Eglwys Sant Tudur oedd prif eglwys yr ardal yn y 19eg ganrif ac ymwelai Islwyn â hi’n aml. He’d die, Mae’r eglwys yn gartref i’r gadair a enillodd Islwyn yn Eisteddfod Treherbert ym 1877 am yr awdl “Y Nefoedd.”
