Volunteers needed to help ‘re-discover map of Wales’ sculpture by Welsh artist Paul Davies
Help discover a huge sculpture on 2 December 2024 between 10:00am - 2:00pm
People on and around Anglesey are invited to join volunteering events at the Llyn Alaw reservoir (Anglesey) to help rediscover a huge sculpture (approx. 11x6 yd) by Beca artist Paul Davies (best known for his ‘Welsh Not’ - performance at 1977 Eisteddfod).
The events emerge from an ongoing collaboration between Welsh Water, Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Countryside and AONB Unit and ɫ researcher Dr Sarah Pogoda from the School of Arts, Culture and Language. Sarah is looking into Paul Davies’s work and the Llyn Alaw site in particular, working closely with local authorities and the artist’s family.
Sarah explains, “Paul initiated the commission from Welsh Water in 1987 in context with the then European Commission’s ‘Year of the Environment’. Paul, Art & Design students from Coleg Llandrillo Menai (then Gwynedd Technical College) and local volunteers joined forces over months for building the sculpture, using only local materials. It is one of the first major works of so-called ‘land art’ in Wales and the UK.”
The sculpture has been overgrown by bramble, gorse, and undergrowth for more than a decade. But with two volunteering events in 2023, the sculpture has been cleared and is now visible again.
Alwyn Roberts from Welsh Water explains, “We’re delighted to play our part in bringing this piece of cultural heritage back to life. The area