Three recent graduates from the Coleg Menai Foundation Art and Design course are currently exhibiting work at Pontio following a residency during the centre’s Circus Feast.
Llyr Evans from Llanallgo uses photography and design to explore his ideas in inventive ways, whilst Kelly-Sorcha Handy works with embroidery and textiles to record her observations of the world around her. Mabli Jones, who plans to study special effects at university, is particularly interested in how productions are presented.
Reflecting on the week and a half they spent at Pontio observing performances, rehearsals and workshops, Llyr said,
“I really enjoyed working for a specific client and felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was great to see a company who tour all over the world coming to Bangor, hear the reaction of the crowd, then use that to produce my work.”
Mabli Jones added “Contemporary circus is something new and totally different for me and probably lots of people in the area. It was good to know that Circus Abyssinia are a company who work with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and I was also interested in costumes and set design, so looking at how everything came together was particularly interesting for me and is sure to be a great foundation for my future career.”
Art & Design lecturer Owein Prendergast said, “We are extremely proud of the positive partnership we have with Pontio, and the diverse and exciting opportunities offered to our students are second-to-none. The students gain a great deal of experience, confidence and inspiration from completing residencies such as these, so we are very fortunate to have such an innovative centre right on our doorstep.”
The work produced during the residency will be showcased in the glass cabinet on Level 0 of Pontio until the 2nd of September.