The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth is hosting a new immersive exhibition dedicated to Sir Kyffin Williams, one of Wales's most important artists. The show animates many of the hundreds of his paintings held in the library's collection, setting them to music.
The exhibition features Williams' farmers and sheepdogs moving through rugged landscapes, waves appearing to crash, and mountains rising as a sun sets. Morfudd Bevan, the art curator at the library, stated that a key goal is to introduce Williams and the library to new audiences, including younger people.
The bilingual experience is staged across three rooms. Singer Sir Bryn Terfel introduces Williams' story in the first room, while the second allows visitors to experience landscapes and seascapes swirling around them, accompanied by a Welsh chamber-folk string trio. The third room includes an electronic self-portrait that visitors can touch to feel the thickness of his paint.
Dennis Outten, chief executive of Focal Studios, the main designers, noted the challenge of projecting Williams' landscapes without losing their texture. The exhibition, which is smaller and more intimate than similar shows for artists like Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Hockney, allows only 10 people at a time and is free to attend.