Welsh language protest art acquired by National Museum Wales

Stephen Price

Carwyn Evans’ groundbreaking installation of 6,500 bird boxes which was created following a Welsh council’s plans to build as many houses in a Welsh speaking heartland has been acquired by Museum Wales Amgueddfa Cymru.

Evans’ moving work, titled ‘Unlliw’ was first shown in 2002, featuring a mound of 6500 hand-constructed cardboard bird boxes, and was created in response to a planning policy by Ceredigion County Council to build 6,500 new homes in the county.

The artwork provided a powerful commentary on the ongoing agricultural crisis and threats of social influx on the delicate cultural status of rural Cymru and the Welsh language.

2011 saw the work installed in the Landscape of Wales gallery at National Museum Cardiff and it soon became a firm favourite of visitors.

The news was shared by Roath gallery, TEN, which is currently presenting a solo exhibition of new works by Carwyn Evans up until 11 April.

The exhibition titled ‘Peth’na’ – a colloquial Welsh placeholder akin to ‘thingamajig’ or ‘whatsit’ – serves as a conceptual anchor for his latest body of work. By using a phrase that refuses specificity, Evans highlights the inherent ambiguity of objects that occupy multiple states at once.

Through a pared-down aesthetic of wood, perspex, rubber, found objects and clay unearthed from his Ceredigion ‘homeland’, Evans creates sculptural ‘hybrids’, existing as both ‘this’ and ‘that’ simultaneously
Evans’s wider practice frequently interrogates erosions, positioning his sculptures as mementos of a landscape in flux.

By stripping imagery and materials – often sourced from functional or agricultural contexts – down to their minimalist essence, he conveys physical and cultural voids that reflect on the act of leaving and the subsequent distance between a person and their heritage.

Known for minimalist structures and assemblages that bridge literary, cultural, and biographical spheres, Evans explores the intricate relationship between humanity, the land, and the self. The recurring use of clay from his father’s farm is particularly poignant; it is a material uprooted — dug from its origin, transported, and reshaped for the confines of a gallery.

In this, we find Evans’s own history of migration: from rural Cymru to the capital, and then to London. His work speaks to the consequences of that departure, articulating the physical, cultural, and personal voids left in its wake

Evans’s work celebrates the material — whether natural, found, handcrafted, or industrial. While some elements are meticulously worked, others are left in their raw state.

These constructed and reclaimed objects are reappropriated into new forms, yet the materials never lose the weight of their origins. Through a precise process of selection and assembly, Evans’s Midas touch cloaks every piece with a quiet tenderness, balancing beauty of form with profound cultural resonance.

Unlliw

Unlliw has gone on to become one of Carwyn’s most important works, and famously found itself an admirer in none other than Sir David Attenborough.

The intention behind the artwork is to address the impact of building houses in rural Wales and to contribute to the current discussion about the possible effects of this planning policy and of other similar plans. The title derives from the Welsh proverb ‘Adar o’r Unlliw, Ehedant i’r Unlle’ (Birds of a Feather, Flock Together).

 

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In his artist statement written at the time of its conception, Carwyn shared: “Ceredigion County Council’s planning policy has been criticised by members of the National Assembly, The Welsh Language Society and Cymuned, an action group to protect Welsh speaking communities.

“The opposition’s argues that the council’s estimation of the future population does not justify building the proposed 6,500 houses in the county, which could lead to destroying the Welsh language in the area through an influx of non-Welsh speakers.

 

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“However, the Council states that they are taking a realistic approach to housing, and are working towards the best interests of its inhabitants.”

He added: “Bird boxes are set up to attract birds to live in them. As housing in Ceredigion often proves to be too expensive for the local community, I want to question who will live in these new houses once they are in place? Will they be local people or not?

“Agricultural areas in Wales continue to face changes within the industry. With the majority of the farming community getting older, the agricultural crisis and social influx are obvious threats to the economic structure and culture in rural Wales.

“Further influx could cause even greater changes, which will be irreversible. As a a young person who has left Ceredigion because of difficulties finding work within the area, I would like to return home, but will that be at the cost of definite cultural changes?:

“Through the size and the density of the work, I hope the viewer can visualise the number of houses to be built within the county, and to form their own opinion on this current topical debate.”

All artworks are available to view and purchase online at www.gallery-ten.co.uk

View Carwyn’s latest works in person at Ten Gallery, Donald Street, Roath, CF24 4TP.