EUROS ROWLANDS
"Adnabod y mor sy'n cyfannu'r hunan.
A nofio'n ogoneddus ynddo o'r naill ynys i'r llall.
Nid bywyd yn unig sy'n daith:
mordaith yw'r hunan hefyd.
Mae gwybod hynny'n bwysig;
mor bwysig a dysgu nofio
rhwng ynysoedd dy feddwl.
Nofio sy'n cadw rhywun rhag boddi.
Nofio, ac adnabod y mor."
The Archipelago series takes its name from a poem my late father wrote in response to a collection of poems I wrote in my early 20s. Twenty years on this series of mixed meda works on books and wood is a belated continuation of the conversation. My father instilled in me a love of literature and these works take their cue from books which have had an enriching and profound influence. They are more a reflection on the way our experience of books and stories become fragmented and intertwined with our own personal history than a direct illustrative response.
