The mysterious underwater world of North Wales’s coastal seas, lakes and rivers will be brought to life at a unique exhibition.
Artist and wild swimmer Vivienne Rickman-Poole, from Llanberis, thinks nothing of plunging into the waves off Llandudno or the icy depths of a Snowdonia lake and now she has captured her experiences on film.
They will be edited into a short visual experience for the week-long Adain Avion exhibition being staged in the fuselage of an old DC-9 aeroplane which will touch down outside Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Sunday, July 8.
The plane was discovered and transformed into a mobile art space by Spanish sculptor and designer Eduardo Cajal and is being brought to four sites in Wales by artist Marc Rees.
It is part of the Cultural Olympiad which accompanies this August’s London Games and of this summer’s North Wales Open Studios Network events which showcase the work of artists from across North Wales.
The Network sees Helfa Gelf/Art Trail, North Wales’ biggest open studios event working in partnership with Anglesey Arts Forum in a co-operation project funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales.
Vivienne’s watery work of art was inspired by her love of outdoor swimming which she was introduced to at the age of five and she said: “It’s become a bit of an obsession.
“It really is addictive, like all extreme sports, because you get a flood of endorphins but it’s good for you as well.
“It boosts the immune system and improves circulation which is why sportspeople use ice baths for recovery.”
She was encouraged to put her work forward for the exhibition by North Wales Open Studios Network Project Co-ordinator Sabine Cockrill who said: “Vivienne’s work is so original and interesting I was very keen to see her enter it for the exhibition.
“Adain Avion is going to be so near to the water it will be wonderful to have her own unique perspective on the rivers, lakes and seas of North Wales on display there.
As well as Vivienne’s film, the Adain Avion exhibition will also feature other works by a number of local artists and Sabine added: “This is an important opportunity for us to showcase some of the remarkable work that is being done in this area.
“North Wales is an undiscovered gem in terms of its art and the North Wales Open Studios Network brings it to the public attention at exhibitions like this and with the open studios events run By Helfa Gelf and Anglesey Arts Forum.”
Adain Avion’s arrival, at 4pm on Sunday, July 8, promises to be spectacular with the aircraft staffed by a Captain and six glamorous stewardesses and being pulled along the prom North Wales regional rugby side by RGC 1404.
The arrival will be led by Llandudno Town Band and flanked by 600 local school children who, assisted by Dawns i Bawb, will create a choreographic runway landing complete with lights and vapour trails before the plane taxis to its resting place in front of Venue Cymru.
Vivienne, 38, originally from Hampshire, has lived in Llanberis since 2004 and swims all year and also climbs with her mountaineer husband Paul Poole.
Her photographic work is on display in Venue Cymru and the National Slate Museum but it is her ability to capture the underwater world through waterproof strap-on cameras that she is harnessing for the exhibition film.
“I swim all year round and at the moment the water is quite bath-like compared to January and I always swim with someone else for safety, usually with my friend Chloe Rafferty.
“I enjoy the fact that you are swimming with wildlife and this week we were swimming with swans on Llyn Padarn.
“In the sea it can be quite rough with the waves but I enjoy the rhythm of it all, the waves, your breathing, heartbeat and the strokes and that’s what I want to capture in the film.
“The film will be two or three minutes long and mainly shot underwater for the effects you can get there and taken here in Llandudno, off Anglesey and in lakes like Llyn Padarn and Llyn Llydaw on Snowdon.
“That’s 190 feet deep and is the coldest in the UK so swimming in the sea is quite pleasant in comparison.
“I trained as a painter and have a degree in Fine Art from the Southampton Institute but I mostly work with film now so the whole outdoors is my studio.
“I’m a photographer but not in the traditional sense. I do a lot of experimental work, modifying old cameras, perhaps combining them with digital cameras so I use a digital camera to shoot through an old lens.
“It is beautiful here but the landscape isn’t my inspiration as an artist. It’s everyday life and the fact of just being here and the people
This project is funded through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development.
