Bedwyr Williams creates film, performance, sculpture and drawing that is focused on social and political behaviour and the ways in which that impacts upon individuals and communities. The artists interest in serious philosophical and moral concerns are explored through surreal and often comic means.
Focusing on his interest in dystopian futures Williams will present two of his films, followed by a Q&A with Tate Curator Linsey Young.
Echt (2014) imagines Britain at a near but unspecified date in the future where our public institutions and ruling systems have been replaced by individualism, mob rule and a culture focused primarily on consumerism and material gain. Echt was shortlisted for the Jarman Award in 2015.
Tyrrau Mawr (2016) is the artists most recent film and was made for his participation in Artes Mundi 2016. Tyrrau Mawr takes as its starting point the tradition of Welsh landscape painting, the mountainous terrain of North Wales becomes the location for a futuristic mega city. Created using the visual effects technique of ‘Matte painting’ it appears in disconcertingly sharp digital quality. A voiceover, written and narrated by the artist tells the story of the inhabitants of this brave new world.