Ship-Shape
Swansea Museum Pontoon, Swansea Marina
Megan Broadmeadow’s inspiration for her work is derived from Swansea’s maritime history and the wider nautical world, which she initially perceived to be very masculine, particularly within the history of Swansea. In her further investigations however, she discovered that the nautical tradition also holds reverence to the female form. Theboat is a ‘she’ vessel, cradling the lives of the men who sail in her hull. In response to this, Broadmeadow has created a floating sculpture of a high-heeled shoe, which has masts and sails, and presents the ultimate female ship.
The high-heeled shoe represents the femininity issues surrounding the nautical world and the shopping culture omnipresent in every city. The work also links to the Swansea cockle women, those women who only wore shoes to enter the market, their simple life almost a million miles away from the highly groomed lifestyles of today
Megan Broadmeadow was born in Manchester and raised in north Wales, where she currently lives and works.
Broadmeadow studied sculpture at the Slade School of Art, and graduated in 2002. Since then she has exhibited and performed in Wales and England. She also works as an Associate Director for Cynefin Theatre Company.
