The Title ... CALON Y WLAD (HEARTLAND)

I have made a final decision about the title of my Major Project. It is to be called Calon Y Wlad (Heartland). I wanted a Welsh title that gave an overview of the whole project. I feel Calon Y Wlad does  this. I don't want to have individual titles for the images and I don't feel I need to go into any explanation of the work for the viewers. The Project is about my relationship with my home land of Wales, it is a reflection of the emotions I feel and sense, as I photograph the land that is dear to me. The images are deliberately aesthetically beautiful, they are emotive and they are unashamedly nostalgic. The pictures I make reflect my love of the land and the relationship I have with it.

I grew up in Wales; my memories are nostalgic because my childhood was such an idyllic and happy time. Hours, days, even years spent exploring the landscape and all its landmarks are all memories that I cherish. Maybe it is all very sentimental, but I am a sensitive person and the life experience I have had in the past 20 to 30 years have not always been memorable for the right reasons. Coming home for me has been therapeutic, and learning from my past will enable me to move on with my life in a more positive way. Here I can find the contentment I have a longing for.

The photographs that I have shot have not always made me happy because they have brought with them a sense of sadness for what once was, and for something that I will never again be able to rekindle. But the photographs are my way of being grateful for what once was a very happy time in my life. I make no apology for the images I have produced being "nice to look at." In the future I may make work that is completely different from this work, in fact I believe that I will l. But this work reflects the beginning of my home coming and as it is the beauty I see everywhere, the beauty I search for everywhere, then it is only natural that the images I produce are going to be beautiful ... at least to me.