On Tuesday 19th February CAER Studio lead artist Paul Evans, along with staff from Willmott Dixon, installed 60 individual mosaics into the Cardiff West Community High School (CWCH) new build school on Penally Road, Ely.
Working with mosaic artist Andrew Heath and CAER Studio artists Becci Booker and Imogen Higgins, pupils from Hywel Dda, Trelai, Pencaerau and Millbank primary schools – along with two groups of young people from Cardiff West Community High school – created these individual pieces at CWCH on Michaelston Road over three days in November 2018. The mosaics are all informed by a personal understanding of heritage – some of the young people decided to use the examples of Iron Age art that they were provided with as inspiration, some chose to draw on personal memories and references including family heirlooms and figures from the past. The outline of Caerau hillfort is represented as a negative space in the centre of the arrangement, the choice of mosaic as a medium is informed by the fact that a Roman villa lies beneath Trelai Fields, overlooked by the new school.
This visually stunning installation represents not only the 60 young artists who took part (many of whom will be heading to the new school when it opens) but the community as a whole and the exemplary partnership working that has led to the creation of this extraordinary building.
We hope that the installation will serve as a constant reminder to pupils and staff of the outstanding heritage of Caerau and Ely – a vibrant, living legacy that will be present in the mind each and every day.
