Maelfa

2010
Edwards, Sean
Interested in things that get ‘left behind’ or ‘overlooked’, Sean Edwards makes use of photography, installation and moving image to explore the sculptural potential of the everyday. In 2009 Edwards undertook a residency in the Maelfa shopping centre in Llanedeyrn on the outskirts of Cardiff, close to where he grew up. Built in the 1970s around a block of high-rise flats in a council estate, the Maelfa shopping centre was once a well-used and popular institution, but later fell into disrepair. It is now the subject of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme. During his residency at the centre, Edwards made a series of works stemming from close observation of the near-derelict space. One of these, the slow-paced silent film Maelfa (2010), offers long gliding shots of the building’s interior surfaces. Meditative and sombre, it reflects both on the disappearance of once vibrant communities, and failed utopian aspirations.
  • Artwork Details: running time: 15 minutes
  • Edition: 1 of 3 + 2 AP
  • Material description: Single channel HD video
  • Credit line: © the artist
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Film and Audio Visual
  • Accession number: ACC27/2016

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

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