Artist: Iwan Dafis

Artist’s Statement

My work is my response to the land of West Wales, a land that has been tilled and farmed by countless generations of my family in sustaining a living from the land.

Up to the preceding generation, my ancestors were farmers here in West Wales, their lives lived close to the soil and governed by the weather and the changing seasons. It is no wonder therefore, that I in turn look to the land for my inspiration and emotional sustenance. So much change takes place in our world, especially in these troubled times, that we cling onto our links with the past, language, family, religion, land, poetry and prose; these all provide us with a connection to the past and of lives lived, celebrated, loved and mourned.

In these days of globalisation and fast living, it is important to take time to ponder, think and appreciate the quality and beauty of ones surroundings. My pictures may be viewed as a window to such worlds, the essence of a locality a frozen moment in time and more importantly, an opportunity to pause a while.