‘If all these bodies did know and understand the significance of such a sculpture, then everyone should hang their heads in shame’

Sculptor David Petersen has been involved in the design and creation of public sculptures in Wales and internationally for 60 years. Here, the Carmarthenshire-based artist gives his views on how such works are commissioned across the nation today

CLEARLY if the Minister responsible for the Iron Ring commission did not know the history and significance of The Ring of Iron castles, then he should have been told.

Many Welsh people have been denied knowledge of their own history by not being taught it in our schools and maybe the Minister is one of these.

However, Cadw must have been aware of this enormous military dominance and they should have explained it to him at the outset. The Arts Council of Wales may also not have been aware of this part of our history and they too should have been told.

However, if all these bodies did know and understand the significance of such a sculpture, then everyone involved in the commissioning of this sculpture should hang their heads in shame. Because if it were to be made then, it would be the most disgraceful insult to Wales and our history. I cannot believe that Ken Skates AM is that arrogant that he would choose to inflict such a stupid political point onto the people of Wales and Flint in particular.

To add insult to injury the Arts Council have chosen a firm of London-based architects to design and make it. This is money from Wales from our cultural budget. Don’t we have any sculptors working in Wales (and coincidently working in metal)? Or, if we do – and we do – does the Arts Council think that they are not of a sufficiently high enough standard to undertake such a commission?

Some years ago I won an open competition to design a public sculpture of the Welsh Princess Nest for Pembroke and I began to research this amazing woman. I learnt everything that I could about her and finally came to the conclusion that here was a real, genuine Welsh heroine. She deserves a public sculpture here in Wales for what she did for “her” people at that time. There is, coincidentally, a memorial plaque in Waterford, Ireland to “The Welsh Princess Nest, founder of Ireland”.

Sadly the money was not found to make the sculpture, maybe because she was a Welsh heroine and even then politics played a major part of who or what gets to be celebrated.

After having experienced many such situations where I have been approached to design a public sculpture, and have researched and immersed myself deep into the subject (as any artist must) I have found that at the final stage either the money or the idea has been held up or not appeared, even on a few occasions, the commission has been given to another sculptor.

I have begun to suspect that other “forces” are at work and that “those that are in charge” are determined that we will not have monuments that celebrate our incredible history and certainly will not be made by a Welsh sculptor.

There have been some notable exceptions when this “political” behaviour has not prevailed though.

For example when the south Wales branch of the Western Front proposed to erect a memorial to the 38th Welsh Division at Mametz Wood on the Somme, no money was forthcoming from the then Welsh Office or any of the Welsh county councils, and so the south Wales branch raised the money themselves and now they – and Wales – have the most visited memorial on the Somme World War One battleground.

In another example, the Arts Council were asked to be involved in the commissioning of the memorial to Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan in Llandovery – a real Welsh hero.

They had wanted to put the commission out to “all sculptors everywhere”, however the local committee refused most emphatically and insisted that “only Welsh sculptors” were to be approached and they took legal advice as to their position. A public vote was held for the people of Llandovery and it was they who chose the sculpture. It has become a genuine “icon” which has helped to transform the town for locals and visitors alike.

Let’s not forget what happened in Cardigan a few years ago when a Dutchman working with the Arts Council commissioned a Mexican artist who lives in Canada to make some floating sound amplifiers in the Afon Teifi for an astounding fee. The people of Cardigan, who were not consulted at any stage, were so appalled by this proposal they managed to stop it. No doubt after much money had been spent getting the ridiculous idea to that stage.

Local people’s opinions must be taken into account and ideally these “public” sculptures should be “bottom up or grassroot” wishes and only then become a reality and not “top down; this is what we think you should have” political statements “parachuted” onto a bemused community.

No, this incredible decision by the Welsh Government Minister in collusion with Cadw and the Arts Council to insult Wales comes as no surprise to me, as it’s been their policy for years. The Arts Council’s mantra has for years has been: “Wales can have any culture that it wants, just as long as it’s not Welsh culture”, with the exception of the Welsh language. What does surprise me is that so many of the general public have realised a little of what goes on with these “public” sculptures and how they are commissioned, and are quite rightly outraged.

Let’s hope that this furore brings about decisions that take the wishes and aspirations of Wales, and of our culture and our people into consideration.