Welsh writers captured in online portrait project

Adam Johannes

Poets and writers from across Wales are getting the artistic treatment, as a new online exhibition by Swansea printmaker Peter Spriggs brings contemporary Welsh literature into dialogue with visual art.

Talking Heads is described as “a live, long-term project” that aims to create a portfolio of portrait prints of living Welsh poets and writers.

The collection already features over seventy Welsh literary figures, including Daniel Abse, Mererid Hopwood, Owen Sheers, Menna Elfyn, Catrin Dafydd, Meic Stephens, Angharad Tomos, Geraint Jarman, Tony Curtis, Dafydd Iwan, Robin Gwynn, Tony Bianchi, Tony Conran and many more.

But these aren’t just ordinary portraits. Each one begins with a conversation. Spriggs meets the poet or writer, talks with them about their life and work, and uses those discussions as the foundation for the image.

Once the print is finished, the writer is invited to contribute a handwritten line, verse, or excerpt from their own work and add their signature alongside Spriggs, creating a true collaboration.

Speaking about the project, Spriggs, Printmaking Technical Demonstrator at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Swansea College of Art, said it is driven by a desire “to explore the relationship between image, text, and identity, while celebrating contemporary Welsh literary culture through printmaking.”

Collagraph

The portraits have been created using traditional collagraph techniques. Collagraph is exactly what it sounds like, a hybrid of collage and graph that builds images through layered materials. Artists construct a printing plate by attaching textures and objects to a rigid surface such as cardboard, wood, or mount board.

For his own portraits, Spriggs begins by drawing the sitter on a cardboard block, which he then covers with a membrane of creased tissue paper, the folds later trap ink during printing. He coats the block with quick-drying varnish, builds up the image using a hot-melt glue gun, and inks it carefully with etching ink, wiping to control areas of light and dark. The final image is printed onto 76 x 56cm Somerset paper using an etching press.

“Each finished piece functions as both an artwork and a document,” exhibition publicity states, “They combine portraiture, original literary text, handwriting and dual authorship. The resulting prints offer a layered record of creative exchange, capturing not only the likeness of each poet or writer, but also their voice, words, and personal mark.”

Archive

The exhibition also gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at collagraph blocks, plates, and prints at different stages of production.

Caroline Thraves, Academic Director Art & Media at Swansea College of Art, said: “Peter’s work not only showcases exceptional printmaking skill but also models the kind of creative collaboration we encourage our students to engage with, where conversation, process and authorship are central to the work.”

The project will continue to expand as new poets and writers join, creating a growing archive showcasing both the artistry and literary culture of Wales.

Talking Heads can be viewed in full at SwanseaPrintmakers.com.