Museum to bring sea indoors with new installation

Amelia Jones 

A Carmarthenshire-based printmaker has been selected as the winning artist for an open call art commission at one of Wales’ museums.

Jacqui Symons’ sea inspired artwork will be installed at the National Waterfront Museum’s Weston Hall. 

Symons was chosen from 30 applicants after an open call earlier this year. The judging panel highlighted her strong visual approach, clear narrative ideas and her interest in coastal heritage, which is central to the museum’s location and mission.

The printmaker, who recently relocated to south Wales, has built her practice around responding to the natural world. Her pieces often encourage viewers to take notice of the small details in nature that are easy to overlook. 

She has worked across printmaking, installation and natural-dye processes for more than a decade, producing commissions for Doncaster Art Gallery, Pacific Place in Hong Kong and the London Transport Museum.

Her practice has increasingly focused on the environmental impact of materials used in contemporary art and design. 

The new commission, titled Y Môr a Ni, will be a suspended installation made from long textile forms dyed entirely with plant-based colour.

The work will hang through the vertical space of the museum’s atrium and is designed to move gently in the building’s natural airflow. 

Symons said the museum’s location directly informed the idea. She explained that she was: “inspired by the colours of the sea and the way the water moves with the wind, current and tides.” She intends to replicate that shifting movement through the suspended textiles.

The piece will also use natural dyes like: indigo, madder, weld and oak gall dyes to produce a palette that reflects sea tones and coastal light.

The installation will incorporate shapes and patterns drawn from maritime objects from the museum’s collection. 

Symons said working with natural dyes is a slow and labour-intensive process, but one she considers essential for work.

“I’m excited about being able to produce such a large-scale installation from natural colour,” she said. “The subtle colours and hues achievable with natural dyes make the process worth it and are fitting for a piece about the sea.”

She has spent years refining her natural-colour techniques and recently published her first book, From Plant to Print, which documents her methods and research into plant-based dyes.

The suspended design will allow visitors to experience the work from multiple perspectives. “The mezzanine also allows for a different viewing perspective, encouraging visitors to see the work from a different level rather than seeing it just above their heads,” she added.

Symons hopes the piece will act as a focal point in the atrium, prompting visitors to think about the ocean as a living and changing entity. 

She also wanted the installation to offer something new on repeated visits. “I want visitors to be able to visit again and again and see something different in the work each time,” she said . “Perhaps they will think about their own relationship with the sea, how it has affected the past and how it moulds the landscape of the local area.”

The installation is expected to be completed later this year. The museum also plans to host educational events and talks around the installation, highlighting the use of sustainable materials in contemporary art.