March 24 - May 12, 2012
opening March 24, 6 - 9 pm
Merthyr Rising
The first documented instance of the raising of the red flag as a symbol of worker’s power, came not in 1917 or 1871 but in 1831. Not in France or Russia but in the small iron town of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. The Merthyr Rising, a rebellion against poor pay and work conditions, was the first instance of independent working class political action in British history (outside traditionalist movements) and the first time the red flag was used as an emblem of this struggle.
This is the first of two exhibitions by the artist Dan Rees inspired by the events and history of the town of Merthyr Tydfil. The video work, ‘Merthyr Rising’ sees the artist following a trail to the edge of town towards the supermarket megastore Asda, which reportedly sold 78,000 pairs of white socks in one year, to a population of less than 55,000. The exhibition’s sculptural installation is a response to this style phenomenon which led the artist to speculate on the rise of a new subcultural movement in this ex-mining community, deep in the Welsh valleys.
