Aderyn Tryweryn

How Aderyn Tryweryn Evolved

“In the first place, I saw a spiritual presence, a timeless sense of a nebulous image arising in my mind, such as a long shape in the poise of the beak of a large bird in my imagination – an experience which, as I have said, is usual for me when I start creating a sculpture. It seemed as if it was about to take flight. That was the image at the beginning; my task then was to further elaborate on it in my imagination.

In time, I began to see the bird’s wing feathers as rows of heads singing, and even shouting, exactly as if they were protesting.

This immediately reminded me of the drowning of the Tryweryn valley. I felt that the image now not only had a strong spiritual sense, but that it also had a political and social significance: it was expressing our feeble position as Welsh people in protecting our country.”

John