‘COLOUR CHART’ INSPIRED BY THE BRECON BEACONS
FANCY painting your living room wall in a shade of “pecked carcass”? This bizarre colour chart has been inspired by the landscapes of the Brecon Beacons.
The chart of colour samples is an artwork created by the first Black Mountains artist-in-residence Rebecca Chesney and was launched at Arts Alive in Crickhowell yesterday.
Rebecca, 47, from Lancashire, said the inspiration for the work came after seeing an air freshener for sale called “Crystal Air Brecon Beacons Wild Blossom and Fresh Mountain Dew”.
“I found it a bit ridiculous because the countryside doesn’t necessarily smell like blossom,” she said.
“After spending time in such a distinctive place, it feels strange to try and reduce things that can’t be replicated.
“That might be smells sold to us by air freshener companies, or paints we dab on our living room walls.”
The artwork, called Snapshot, takes the form of a colour chart that could be picked up from a DIY shop.
But instead of ordinary paint tones like “magnolia”, the artist replicated colours she found in the landscape.
The names and descriptions explore themes like climate change, sustainability, pollution and tourism.
Some of the names evoke the beauty of the landscape, like “fallen snow”, which is described as “compacted snow on hilltops produces the purest of whites”.
Others bring attention to pollution, such as “joyride” – the description is “obligatory burned out car at the bottom of a disused quarry”.
Others are funny like “cagoule”, described by the artist as “quintessential British rainwear of many colours, but here in a modern green”.
The chart contains 96 paint colours and was created from hundreds of photographs Rebecca took during her six-week stay in the national park.
She was selected as Brecon Beacons artist-in-residence from hundreds of candidates after applying and attending an interview.
“I’d actually never been to the Black Mountains before,” she said. “When I arrived, I didn’t have a fixed idea of what I was going to do.
“The national park is such an amazing place – how do you balance wanting to attract visitors with wanting to protect the landscape? That was a starting point for my work.”
During her residency, Rebecca took hundreds of photographs and had to narrow them down to 150, before selecting the final 96 for the chart.
She climbed Sugar Loaf, Table Mountain and Pen-y-Fan, as well as regularly walking for more than an hour between her accommodation and studio.
“I just loved being in the landscape,” she said. “Although it certainly tested my map-reading skills!”
Rebecca’s work focuses on landscapes, in particular the impact of human activities on nature and the environment.
Her work has taken her all over the world, including Iceland, Romania, South Africa and India.
She recorded the underwater sound of a melting glacier in Iceland and the sound of an approaching thunderstorm in a forest in Romania, as well as the sound of bees inside a hive.
“I’m very lucky that my job is so wonderful,” she said. “I’ve had opportunities to see some amazing places.”
Ian Rowat, of the Brecon Beacons National Park authority, said: “We hope the work inspires people to visit and experience the varied palette of this dramatic landscape for themselves.”