Locws Schools presented a parallel project based on Locws International 2007 with over 150 students from the Swansea area taking part. Led by artist David Marchant, the project offered opportunities for students to visit Locws International 2007 and be guided through the work. Inspired by this experience the students then produced a dynamic collection of site-specific artworks which were presented in their schools.


On the guided tours David discussed the ideas behind the artworks with the students and introduced them to some of the processes of making site-specific work. This provoked a wide range of responses from the students around contemporary political, social and cultural issues and provided inspiration for their own projects. Locws Schools saw the production of over 30 artworks in a wide range of media including sculpture, performance, video and photography.


The schools taking part in Locws Schools were Bishop Gore Comprehensive, Bishopston Comprehensive, Daniel James Community School, Pentrehafod Comprehensive, Penyrheol Comprehensive and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe.


Locws Schools is run in conjunction with Arts in Education, City and County of Swansea.

Guided Tour



The pupils approached the artworks with open, inquisitive minds and with very interesting responses.



Alongside the beauty of St Mary’s church, Rhona Byrnes’ projection posed a good starting point, which Niall commented on, ‘the work visually shows you aspects of Swansea you weren’t aware of’.



Torsten Lauschmann’s, Piecework orchestra, opened up the subject of -What is art? Jessica saying, ‘all the art I knew about was drawing and painting’. She was inspired by Torsten’s work calling it ‘funky’, with Shane replying, ‘art is everywhere’.



Sara Rees’ Kairos was very well received, with a large cohort of pupils believing the work showed a comparison between classes.



Niamh McCann’s sculptural mural was viewed and generated varied opinions, some were on a political level, comparing capitalism with communism and with the ospreys representing freedom – (Nicky.) The graffiti being left exposed on the side of the work posing the question of identity.



The pupils responded well to the work of Milena at Swansea museum using political words such as ‘propaganda’ and ‘one sided interpretation’ when discussing the work We still do not know where will be the last cemetery.



We ended our tour with Rebecca Gould’s work in the Norwegian Church. Which seemed to challenge their conception of what the work was trying to say, and even after an explanation, the group were still questioning this piece of art.



The tour was very inspiring for the pupils and generated some strong ideas to work with back at their school environment.








Looking at Niamh McCann’s mural on the back of the Dylan Thomas Theatre








Looking at Sara Rees’s work in Swansea Marina



Artworks



The students were very much engaged with Sara Rees and Torsten Lauschmann and the results were outstanding creating a poverty-stricken hut from the future and a small mechanical orchestra.



It seemed that, due to the fact that the students had no restrictions for what they could create, the artwork produced seemed to fit all the criteria for good art, as it solemnly portrayed feelings and empathy for their chosen subject matter.



When asked the question – ‘Do you think what you produced is art?’ Everyone replied, ‘yes, definitely’.



‘We are able to create something that someone professional has done and I never thought it could be this good’ (Jemma).



‘I really enjoyed using materials that I wouldn’t normally use in school’ (Sean).



‘It was much better than drawing on paper’ (Terri-Ann).



‘It was really encouraging to make something like this yourself’ (Shane).



‘The art has shown us how other people may live’ (Jessica).



To view the Daniel James mechanical orchestra: Click here.








Building the poverty-stricken hut from the future








Painting the poverty-stricken hut from the future








Painting stencils onto the poverty-stricken hut from the future








Detail of the poverty-stricken hut from the future








The poverty-stricken hut from the future

Guided Tour



Twenty-seven teenagers with a keen interest in contemporary art created a very interesting tour with intelligent feedback. After a few tips on formalism the art was ready to be unravelled and with quick responses they weren’t far off the mark.



Sara Rees’s work was obviously making an impression as some of the group had already wondered what it was prior to the tour. ‘We passed the artwork last week and questioned why it was there and wondered where it came from because the Marina was full of posh boats and contrasted with a shack like house thing’, (Harriet and Rhian).



Thomas hit the nail on the head ‘I think it is a house from the future, due to population destroying the arctic, big waves will come and destroy the cities and the survivors will start making houses from things that they have found and live in them’.



‘I love the way the plant growing on it represents new life’, (Naomi).



The students took time to concentrate on Torsten Lauschmann’s work, which produced lots of smiles, jumpy reactions and even rhythmic jigs.



‘Big and small objects to blend the sounds in together’, (Rachel).



‘Using everyday electricity creatively’, (Naomi).



‘It’s quite musical and its got beat rhythm mixed together using old and new technology’, (Alun).



When shown Rhona Byrne’s projection the pupils commented on how they thought – ‘it changes your perspective of Swansea’, (Sophie).



‘Contrasting the layout of the city to the country’, (Adam).



‘Disagree that the artist is using a plane for this work as it pollutes the atmosphere’, (Alice).



Both Niamh and Milena’s work brought up questions about war and peace.



When looking at Niamh’s work, Marysia quoted the graffitti artist Banksey’s ‘Book on Wall and Peace’ in relation to the exposed graffiti in the sculptural mural. Marysia was also able to decipher the Czechoslovakian in Milena’s work, which was quite a touching moment e.g. ‘Trada’: a calling for father, ‘Kryjteme’: hide yourself/hide me.

Vojta was an emotional piece for Rachel, Lauren, Marysia, Chad and Naomi.



We ended the day with discussions about Rebecca Gould’s work in the Norwegian Church. The children picking out some excellent observations.



‘Is she looking for a hero?’(Nia). ‘Is she a victim of fashion from Paris signifying the centre of the fashion world and the fact that she’s wearing chanel sunglasses?’(Lauren).



‘The horse looks like the Trojan horse from Troy’, (Hannah).



‘The jacket seems to have patterns just like olive leaves. Just as the horse was made from olive wood’, (Marysia).



‘It is a modern day version of Helen of Troy’, (Sophie).








Looking at Milena Dopitova’s drawings at Swansea Museum








Looking at Sara Rees’s sculpture in Swansea Marina








Watching Rhona Byrne’s film in St. Mary’s Church



Artworks



The students worked in groups producing a wide range of work in response to the exhibition tour on day one. There were examples of small scale sculpture, mock ups of stained glass concepts, books, masks and murals. The students using multi- inspirational, contextual ideas.



One group used a series of photographs that they took during the tour of the day, combined with inspiration from St. Mary’s Church and Rhona Byrne’s projection. Using visuals of fragmentation to form a mock-up of a stained glass window sited on one of the windows in their classroom. Others created interior murals sited in the corridors of the school inspired by Niamh McCann and using quotes and images from Dylan Thomas.



A direct response from Sara Rees’s work was evident in other group work. One in particular was the making of a sculpture using a mobile phone as a symbol of our present day condition and it being washed away by a Tsunami, leaving behind a representation of a house from the future.



I thoroughly believe that if it wasn’t for the students dedication towards the project, that they would never have completed such ambitious tasks which they set for themselves on one day. I was told by the students that the project had been really exciting and can recall several quotes including – ‘Can we do this again next year?’.








The stained glass window








The Mask








The Dylan Thomas Mural








The Tsunami








The Mobile Phone








The house from the future

Guided Tour



After the initial introduction the group concentrated on unravelling the meanings behind Rhona Byrne’s work at St. Mary’s Church. ‘We see the contrast between the beach and the built up area’ (Luke). Michael says, ‘you get to see Swansea from a different perspective because it’s high above’ . ‘The film seems to be focusing on the church which is old and the new buildings that surround it’ , (Josh). ‘ The cross on the altar was as though ‘x’ marks the spot there’s also a cross on the runway and the plane is the shape of an x’ (Laura). The situation of the work in the back room between the windows seemed appropriate to Mike as he commented on the fact that they were both linked to a space looking from the sky.



The initial reactions to Torsten’s work were, ‘wow its cool’, ‘sounds like music’ (Polly), ‘it sounds like percussion’ (Ben). It brought up questions about Art in general, ‘this piece shows that art can be different, it’s very expressive’ (Michael), who responded by body popping, which seemed to provide great potential for a performance piece of his own. Michael couldn’t believe the amount of wiring involved and was intrigued on how it worked.



Many pupils had seen Sara Rees’ work prior to the tour and questions arose such as, ‘Is it to do with poverty?’ ‘Is it about someone who has lived on an island?’ ‘ There seems to be a contrast with the expensive boats surrounding the shack’ (Jack, Michael, James). An interesting comment from Polly, ‘things don’t matter what they look like from the outside it’s the inside that counts’.



Niamh’s sculptural mural was viewed as the background being a map, polluted air, the earth heating up and birds scavenging on the lookout for food. ‘The red sun being associated with Japan’, ‘Is the background a cloud or a country?’ (Michael, Luke, Polly).



Generally the pupils were very inspired by the work they saw in Locws 3 and look forward to giving a response to this artwork. Their teacher was very impressed with how open minded and engaged the pupils were towards contemporary art.






Looking at Niamh McCann’s mural on the back of the Dylan Thomas Theatre







Watching Rhona Byrne’s film at St. Mary’s Church







Looking at Sara Rees’s sculpture in Swansea Marina



Artworks



Some interesting concepts were put into practise when I visited the school. Some students being inspired by a mix of Rebecca Gould’s performance with Torsten Lauchman’s mechanical Orchestra and others inspired by Sara Rees’ work in Swansea Marina.



Inspired by Niamh McCann, Polly created a mural around a corner, which was a graphic version of The Worm’s head and Ospreys. ‘ I really, really enjoyed it, it was fun painting a wall’.



The group inspired by Sara Rees were prepared for some hands on physical work deconstructing creates and reconstructing Artworks – resulting in houses from the future.



Another group creating a video piece of mechanical bodies using mechanical tools – an extension of the hybrid. The boys body popping skills proving the main performance of the work. ‘ I had a really fantastic time. I enjoyed being a robot. It was different to everyday school life’, said Mike.



The students were very much engaged in the Artworks that they produced and showed utmost enthusiasm during the making process being very pleased with the results.



‘Thank you more than anything! I mean that, it’s much better than staying in lessons’, said Michael.






A house from the future







Another of the houses from the future being built







Another of the houses from the future







One of the mechanical bodies using mechanical tools: Click here to watch the film

Guided Tour


Some interesting questions arose when the group engaged with Torsten Lauschmann’s work at the National Waterfront Museum. The initial reaction, was that this work was strange but really cool. Rebecca saw the work as, ‘how machines evolve’, whilst Catherine thought that it was connected with ‘obsessive compulsive disorders’. Morgan liked the noises created but thought the visual stimuli lacked aesthetics. Joshua connected the work to Swansea’s road maintenance as he commented, ‘it sounds like roadwork’s and busy Swansea’.



Niamh’s mural seemed to represent freedom for part of the group. Whilst the Exposed Graffitti, which shines through the mural, was applauded and Niamh was credited with respecting other peoples artwork.



Sara Rees’ work was very well received, with initial reactions such as; ‘its amazing’, ‘hey theres a boat’ (Michelle). ‘Its like a sea house’ (Leah). ‘There’s a wooden shack on the sea complete with cat flap’(Joe). ‘ There’s no door (Catherine)’.



After closer inspection it was decided that there was a contrast based on ostentatious second homes being compared with how some people live. Concluding with several, ‘rich against poor’, comments and the idea of competition in life and that, ‘all or most art is also a competition’ (Amy and Joe).



Moving on to Carwyn Evans’ work, ‘it’s framing the world as you see it’ said Amy and Catherine enjoyed the fact it was repeated three times, she believed representing past, present and future. Joshua concluded, ‘everything won’t last long’.



Finally the group visited the Nowegian Church, viewing Rebecca Gould’s Trojan Horse with ‘Wow’ as some first impressions. The majority of the group instantly made the connection to the Helen of Troy story and thought that the sculpture had a very clever concept. Discussions of construction took place and the Locws Set up video concluded our day.






Looking at Niamh McCann’s mural on the back of the Dylan Thomas Theatre







Looking at Torsten Lauschmann’s orchestra in the National Waterfont Museum







Looking Torsten Lauschmann’s orchestra in the National Waterfont Museum



Artworks



On arrival to the school, it was apparent how much preparation work the students had done. Some students had all ready started producing their artworks. The students were very clear about what they wanted to portray with a huge variation of separate projects on the go.


The projects included their thoughts on an industrial future, recycled school uniforms, concepts about freedom, views about today’s youth mixed with religion, welsh culture, historical and fantasy art.



It was clear that the Locws tour had engraved a potent, inspiring twist upon their artworks. The children worked well within the boundaries of the classroom situation to produce their artworks portraying their views.



They used the Locws experience as inspiration towards their G.C.S.E. portfolios.

Peter said that he, ‘really enjoyed working as a team’. Amy and Catherine said, ‘this was an excellent experience I wish to come across again, today has been so cool’.


‘It was a way to speak your mind without getting into trouble’, (Catherine).


‘Absolutely fantastic an abundance of knowledge or current day art’ (Amy).







One of the recycled school uniforms







One of the artworks portraying views about today’s youth mixed with religion







A surreal artwork reflecting thoughts on an industrial future







The Swan

Guided Tour

Intrigued, surprised, perplexed and very much inspired are some words to describe the tour. Initially, as eyebrows dipped to grasp the concept of contemporary art the open mindedness of the group allowed the students to think outside their normal parameters of what they perceived to be Art.

Some of the students had seen Sara’s work and had already started to question what it was. ‘Is someone trying to escape to an island’ (Jordan)? ‘Is it a den in a tree that has been flooded’ (Richard)? ‘Is it where people live in Africa’(Ben). ‘Perhaps it’s an immigrants house’ (Jamie). ‘I wouldn’t think of it as art as it is made from scraps of wood’(Rebecca).

After an explanation of the work many related it to a recent devastating fire in which their school burnt to the ground on March 18th 2006. After learning about this work the group is considering a future project made from some of the debris material left from the fire.

Torsten’s work was very much enjoyed as a few pupils started jigging when viewing. ‘There’s a beat, it’s awesome it’s obviously something to do with music.’(Keelan). ‘I’m trying to find where different sounds are coming from’(Katie). ‘You don’t know what’s making what noise’ (Ben), ‘It’s a musical masterpiece’(Rhys).

On viewing Niamh’s sculptural mural, general comments were, ‘it looks American, is it something to do with war’. ‘Is the sun a Japanese Flag symbol’?
There were many comments upon Milena’s work. ‘We use to draw like this in primary school’ (Ben). ‘Is it to do with slavery’(Jamie)? ‘Under developed countries can produce thing at a cheaper cost’(Richard).

‘Does the artist get her inspiration from children’s drawings and doodles etc’(Ben).
‘Is it influenced by video games and films’(Jordan).

At the end of the tour the group were asked what they thought or the tour? ‘We got to see different types of art’. ‘I normally think of art as drawing and painting but this exhibition makes you think differently’. ‘ It helps you to think about different ideas’. ‘Some of the work was strange but it was cool’. ‘It was unusual, it was new, it was inspiring’. ‘It was way better than any other art trips’ (Joelle).



Looking at Niamh McCann’s mural on the back of the Dylan Thomas Theatre



Looking at Sara Rees’s floating sculpture in Swansea Marina



Watching Rhona Byrne’s film in St. Mary’s Church

Artworks

On arrival, it was obvious that the students had been thinking about various ideas based on the concept of Locws 3 and it’s site-specific work. Their work ranged from graffiti, sound, video and installation, using a variety of inspirations from the Locws artists and also reacting to a tragic fire, which took place in their school last year.

Graffitti was applied to areas of walls, a classroom was made from scavenged materials and a video was made within the derelict site: a burning book with violin music recalling the memory of the old school.

The students clearly enjoyed the work that they produced and said, ‘We would like to do the project on a bigger scale somewhere in Swansea as we really like the way the graffiti can tell a story’(Ben).

‘It showed us lots of different types of art’, (Richard).

‘It was a really good experience’, (Rees).



Graffitti of the burning school





The video of a burning book with violin music recalling the memory of the old school



The classroom made from scavenged materials on the site of the old school



The classroom made from scavenged materials

Guided Tour

A thoughtful day was had by all, as the group tried to unravel the work in the

Locws International 2007 exhibition and an obvious interest was portrayed as the students continued to discuss the art as we walked to the various venues.

Some interesting comments were made when viewing Rhona Byrne’s work in St.Marys church; “How God views Swansea”(Emily), “Perhaps its to do with creation, the beauty of the natural contrasted with the city”(Joel).

Torsten’s work was considered to be a jumpy experience for some, others seemed to be perplexed with why it was considered to be art. Joshua commented on the fact that, “ these were everyday items put together to make music from”. Jamie and David thought that it had some historic influence, which was set up to make a song.

Rebecca and Joel commenting, “is it to do with global warming and this is how we will have to live in the future, because that’s all we will have left to make houses from and live”, unravelled Sara Rees’ work. Courtney thought it showed how unfortunate some people were and how they might live.

Niamh’s work brought up questions about migration, borderlines and maps. (Yasmin, Josh and Jamie).

Milena’s work questioned some of the group’s idea of art. Emily and Rebecca saw a child’s perception of war and thought the imagery to be sad. When Vojta was viewed the majority of the class found the video emotional and linked it with the child’s image. Questions arose such as, “did his father die in the war” and ‘what was the music a reminder of”(Yasmin and Sam).

Whilst on route to Sa1, I overheard a philosophical conversation regarding Milena’s sound installation, “it’s was like living your life by quotes, choices, “do you want coffee? Why don’t you have a watch? “How you make choices and how much they effect your life .You make up –the choices that you make you who you are”(Emily and Jessica).

Carwyns work gave some the impression of an illusion. “It’s 2d but looks 3d” (Rumia, Rebecca).

We finished the tour with the group being slightly perplexed with Rebecca’s work in the Norwegian Church. They found it difficult to unravel and a lot to take in all at once. However after the explanation the general consent was that the group liked the uniqueness and thought the idea was very clever.



Listening to Milena Dopitova’s sound work at Swansea Museum



Looking at Rebecca Gould’s sculpture in the Norwegian Church



Looking at Carwyn Evans’s sculpture in SA1

Artworks

On arrival at the school, it was obvious by the collection of materials on show that recycling was a strong focus for the day. Inspired by Sara Rees, the pupils focused on making sculpture from waste materials and got to work on their various concepts, familiarising themselves with how the items would be put together. By midday the individual pieces were strongly underway, from mechanical looking hands to floating houses.

One group’s artwork contrasted two futures, a robotic hand holding a world full of litter. “We enjoyed making this as you don’t usually get to do this type of work in school”, (Rebecca, Jamie and Mike). “Creating the objects does actually make you think about the whole picture of recycling for the future”, (Emily). These statements obviously show that Sara Rees’s art piece really works. Yasmin stated that “when you litter you become the rubbish”.

A chair made from waste material suggested, “some people are sitting down and not noticing the problem of waste’’. Josh didn’t realise you could make models of houses from waste material and said, “it was great to be inspired by different artists”.

The children clearly enjoyed the project, “it’s better than normal schoolwork”, (Daniel and Michael). “We enjoyed exploring different artists and the possibilities of art”, (Rebecca). “It’s really exciting and we would love to have another opportunity to do this”, (Daniel). “This project was really, really fun and we’d love to do this again”, (Rebecca, Rumia and Jasmin).



Some of the artworks inspired by recycling materials



The robotic hand holding a world of litter



One of the artworks inspired by recycling materials



The floating sculpture



A close-up of one of the artworks inspired by recycling materials



The sculptural chair made from waste