Margaret Thatcher and Aneurin Bevan at the National Assembly for Wales
A new artwork depicting Margaret Thatcher and Aneurin Bevan will go on display at the Senedd, home of the National Assembly for Wales, on 21 May 2008 for twelve weeks.
Portraits of the two political giants have been cut into sheets of tinplate by Cardiff-based artist, Dylan Hammond, in what is the first major visual art installation at the Senedd since its opening two years ago.
Each portrait, measuring 4.3m x 3m, will hang against the glass facade overlooking Cardiff Bay to be visible simultaneously to people both inside and outside the building.
The project, which has taken five months to complete, has cross-party backing from Assembly Members Andrew Davies, Alun Cairns, Jenny Randerson and Jocelyn Davies.
National Assembly Presiding Officer, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, said:
"The Senedd belongs to the people of Wales and it is right that it should host, from time to time, the work of artists. I hope that this installation will encourage people to come in to the Senedd to learn more about what is done here in their name. If it provokes debate among ordinary people, that can only be good for Welsh democracy."
Welsh historian, John Davies, said:
"Few politicians have done more to shape the Wales we live in today. As architect of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan was a believer in socialism and the power of the collective. Margaret Thatcher was a determined enemy of both but, for good or ill, she's part of the story too. They represent two poles in political approach and there is a sense in which we all, politicians and public alike, live and work in their shadow."
Artist, Dylan Hammond, said:
"The transparent facade of the Senedd, symbolic of open government, provided the creative impulse for the artwork. The images in my practice are monumental in the sense that they memorialize the dead and the living. The contained and reductive process of my drawing style gives way to the sparky unpredictability of the cutting. Paradoxically, the inert metal comes to life again through its own corrosion and decay, and the chaotic play of light on its surfaces.