MORGLAWDD / SEAWALL – UWTSD Lecturer Alex Duncan’s Exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre
The Ҵý (UWTSD) is proud to highlight the work of Alex Duncan, a Fine Art lecturer at Swansea College of Art, whose exhibition MORGLAWDD / SEAWALL is currently on display at Ruthin Craft Centre until 30 March 2025.
This thought-provoking exhibition explores the interplay between human-made coastal defences and their impact on natural environments, with a particular focus on Swansea’s seawall and rising sea levels.
Curated by Ann Jones and supported by Arts Council Wales (ACW), the exhibition has also benefited from the Henry Moore Artist Support Scheme. Alex said Through print, drawing, and sculpture,
” the works on show at Ruthin will explore curved seawall surfaces alongside monuments to extraordinary high tides, examining gestures and mark-making where we interact with our environment.”
Alex has long been inspired by the sea and its surrounding coastal landscapes. His large aluminium panels in SEAWALL capture a detailed scan of the Swansea seawall, with the thinness of the material naturally curving to reflect the ‘recurve’ of the original concrete structure. His work prompts reflection on the impact of global warming and the ways in which coastal defences, while offering protection, can disrupt the ocean’s natural dynamics.
Also featured in the exhibition is High Water Mark, a series of drawings that are memorials of extraordinary tides and floods from around the world. These delicate works, resembling surface rubbings, universally depict a horizontal line that separates air from water, emphasising humanity’s fragile relationship with nature.
His Backwash drawing adds a layer of intrigue by questioning perception and reality. While depicting pebbles, the inspiration comes not from an actual beach but from his father’s shower curtain, continuing his exploration into what is real versus what is made to appear real. This theme is further examined in works such as Cove, where what appear to be pebbles are actually sea-worn polyurethane foam, and Slipper Limpet, a carved bone piece.
Alex has exhibited widely in Wales, London, and internationally, with recent participation in the ô/ exhibition held at Pontio in Bangor. He also ran Artlacuna, a not-for-profit studio and project space in Battersea, London, for ten years.
He said:
“ The ‘coastal hardening’ along edges of coastline across the planet is a major issue, as countries try to deal with the economic effect of rising sea levels, increased floods and storms. Concrete walls are often the go-to ‘defence’,
however, they have a major negative effect on the biodynamics andbathymetry of an ocean space, not allowing the wave energy to exhale.
“ This is a space that I would seek out upon my weekly return to Wales when travelling from London to teach, finding headspace amongst a liminal site of immense shifting materials.”
Further Information
Lowri Thomas
Principal Communications and PR Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: lowri.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk
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