We are excited to have new artwork now on display at Swansea MAD. James Langston, a practicing multimedia digital artist from Ammanford, has created Copperheart, an exhibition of seven Slabstone Art panels that show an abridged account of Swansea’s copper and social history.
James’ has combined his passions for music and local history, alongside his drive to keep learning, to the creation of this project. Not only this but he has set up his own business, Media Story Productions, to enable him to infuse his interests into future projects. Moving forward, James looks to create work and tell stories alongside other local communities from areas which rose from the Industrial revolution around the UK. As James is keen to point out, “these [communities] are the reasons why we exist in these areas, and the basis of any community exists, although the original reason might have gone, we need to understand our roots.” He also believes that “through the knowledge of our past, we can give a sense of purpose to the people of today. They will be able to realise; why we live where we live today and how our parents and their parents struggled to survive to give us this priceless gift called ‘community'”.
Each of the Slabstone Art panels will represent seven music tracks and present a condensed account of the Copper and Social history of Swansea. This collection was originally produced for the end of James’ master’s degree exhibition show at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in December 2019. This work was in collaboration with the family business ‘Art of Eco Limited’ who produced the stone slabs. The slabs are cold-cured alternatives to ceramic tile and natural stone, made from local waste stone and aggregates from the area. James also currently supports the family business ‘Art of Eco’, which specialises in the manufacturing of upcycled waste stone aggregate for the interiors market. His work supporting them as a digital content creator, using techniques he has learnt from his training, has allowed him to create “a ‘revolutionary’ history for a modern-day, futuristic eco-friendly business”. He is passionate about integrating these eco-friendly materials within his art and believes that “synonymous with Swansea’s position in the industrial revolution as a leader in copper smelting and other industries, Art of Eco is leading the way with its material during the current eco/digital industrial revolution”.
When talking about his exhibition, James stated that: “This exhibition is part of a test trading campaign to gain feedback and knowledge to help start my new multi-media business, Media Story Productions. Through this I will endeavour to produce an extended EP taster, prior to the release of a fully-fledged audio/visual album, covering more of Swansea’s history with recorded musicians and actors”. Through his company, James aims to integrate another of his interests, animation, into his work by working with local animators. His work is rooted in the communities he works within and James is enthusiastic about what the future holds.
Swansea MAD are proud to continue supporting artists at all stages of their career and hopes exhibitions like ‘Copperheart’ will inspire others to follow their passions.
To follow James please visit his social media profiles here:
Facebook: Media Story Productions / James Langston
Instagram: James Langston
Twitter: James Langston
If you’re interested in finding out more about our work to support local artists, please contact us via phoebe@madswansea.com