MEMORY OF WATER | COF Y DWR

​A multi and interdisciplinary project between Mererid Hopwood and Ayessha Quraishi
​
​British Council - Go Digital: Pakistan/Wales
Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives 2022

Memory of water is an explorational undertaking intended as a conversation between two artists across media, Mererid Hopwood (poet) and Ayessha Quraishi (visual artist). Fluid in nature, water cuts across geography, surpassing boundaries and confines and evokes the experiential over the analytical.
​It is no wonder consciousness is described as a ‘stream’, and the river is a metaphor for the passage of time where no one steps into the same water twice.

IMAGE MAKING

His Memory, Beyond Reach and Uniform White is a series of digital images created from a photograph by consecutively reducing the size of the picture grid till it read like a pattern. The work explores the idea of an image or memory having multiple meanings.

Uniform White - The making of an image no.1

Uniform White - The making of an image no.2

Uniform White - The making of an image no.3

Uniform White - The making of an image no.4

His Memory, Beyond Reach - The making of an image no.1

His Memory, Beyond Reach - The making of an image no.2

His Memory, Beyond Reach - The making of an image no.3

His Memory, Beyond Reach - The making of an image no.4

UNIFORM WHITE

One of my earliest memory of water is going to meet my father on his ship that had docked in Karachi.
​The work evokes two streams of knowledge, the analytical and the experiential. 

Uniform White 1 - 43 x 31 cm, ink on digital print, 2022

Uniform White 2 - 43 x 31 cm, ink on digital print, 2022

Uniform White - Single channel video, 28sec loop, 2022

HIS MEMORY, BEYOND REACH

His Memory, Beyond Reach 1, ink on digital print, 43 x 31 cm, 2022

His Memory, Beyond Reach 2, ink on digital print, 43 x 31 cm, 2022

His Memory, Beyond Reach 3, ink on digital print, 43 x 31 cm, 2022

His Memory, Beyond Reach 4, ink on digital print, 43 x 31 cm, 2022

THE STOLEN WAVE

‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ which translated into English means ‘Remember Tryweryn’ – is a phrase that was originally painted on a stone wall next to the A487 at Llanrhystud, in Mid Wales near Aberystwyth in 1966. It was painted in protest by journalist and author, Meic Stephens, following the decision to drown the village of Capel Celyn in North Wales to create a reservoir to serve the people of Liverpool.

Cofiwch Dryweryn | Remember Tryweryn

The Stolen Wave 1, Ink on paper, 29 x 41 cm, 2022

The Stolen Wave 2, Ink on paper, 29 x 41 cm, 2022

THE SHALLOW WATERS OF our wanting

​The Swansea Valley played a key role in Britain’s Industrial Revolution. In 1850 eleven major copperworks had been established on the banks of the River Tawe, and for a time they produced over half of the world’s total output of smelted copper.  Such was the importance of this industry that Swansea became known as ‘Copperopolis’. But a heavy price was paid for this success, as the Valley became polluted by the dense poisonous smoke and huge amounts of copper waste or ‘slag’ produced by the smelting works. 
Other metal industries such as tinplate developed in the Valley, but by the beginning of the twentieth-century copper smelting was in decline and the works were gradually abandoned, leaving behind a desolate and tree-less landscape.
In 1960 the Valley was one of the most derelict industrial areas in Europe.
hafodmorfacopperworks.com/the-past/

The Shallow Waters of our Wanting 1 - Gesso and ink on paper, 40.5 x 29 cm, 2022

The Shallow Waters of our Wanting 2 - ink on paper, 40.5 x 29 cm, 2022

The Shallow Waters of our Wanting 3 - ink on paper, 40.5 x 29 cm, 2022

The Shallow Waters of our Wanting 4 - ink on paper, 40.5 x 29 cm, 2022

BLACK WATERS

Black Waters - Oil on canvas, 56.5 x 41 cm each, 2022

Black Waters - 4 and 5, Ink and oil on paper, 28 x 22 cm each, 2022

WATER HIS, WAVE HERS - 2

The diptych accompanies the poem Llygad y Distyl

Water His, Wave Hers - 2, Ink and oil on paper, 40.5 x 29 cm each, 2022

AN unfinished poem

​The work acknowledges the region of embodied knowledge on the verge of becoming a language.

An Unfinished Poem - Triptych, Ink on paper, 48 x 33 cm each, 2022

The Pilgrims way

The work lifts from a conversation about Bardsey Island - Ynys Enlli, known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints".

The Pilgrims Way - Oil and ink on paper, 55 x 37.5 cm, 2022

POEMS | Mererid Hopwood

1.
Cof y Dŵr
 
Dŵr barlys, dŵr llonydd,
dŵr calch, dŵr bedydd;
 
dŵr bendigaid, dŵr ffrwd,
dŵr byw, dŵr brwd;
 
dŵr cadarn, dŵr daear,
dŵr caled, dŵr claear;
 
dŵr croyw, dŵr ennaint,
dŵr du, dŵr fy henaint;
 
dŵr dilyw,  dŵr codi,
dŵr glaw, dros-ben-llestri ...
 
dŵr y môr, dŵr mân,
dŵr ffynnon, golch-fi’n-lân ...
 
dŵr hallt, dŵr glas,
dŵr dwfn fy-eisiau-bas;
 
dŵr llwyd, dŵr llanw,
dŵr pwmp, werth-ei-gadw;
 
dŵr pwll, dŵr tap,
dŵr marw, dŵr hen fap,
 
dŵr pair, dŵr swyn,
dŵr y don gas ei dwyn.
 
mh

1.
Memory of Water

barley water, still water
lime water, baptism water

holy water, torrent water
living water (running water), bubbling water

aqua fortis (nitric acid), the water of the earth
hard water, tepid water

fresh water, water for bathing (suggesting in some sort of special oils)
black water, the water of old age

flood water, spring water
rainwater, 'over the top' water (but the Welsh idiom for 'over the top' refers to 'dishes', so it's a play on dish water)

sea water, droplets of water
fountain water, water to wash me clean (also pure)

salt water, blue water
deep water, the shallow water of my wanting

grey water, tide water
pump water, water that's worth keeping

pool water, tap water
dead water, the water of an old map

cauldron water, magic water
the water of the stolen wave.

​mh

​In this piece, I use dŵr (water) with some of its many combinations - most of them acknowledged pairings, though some I have made up.
 
It oscillates between bitter and sweet in no particular measure or order, but ends with what is, for us in Wales, a very poignant idea of 'stolen water'. This heartache is a shared experience by many communities the world over, wherever a village has been drowned to create reservoirs. When this is done with little or no respect for the villagers and their way of life, then it inevitably leaves a bitter taste. 

​mh


See 'Cofiwch Dryweryn'  
​en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cofiwch_Dryweryn


​

​2
Llygad y Distyll
 
Y dŵr hwn
Y don
Y môr hwn
Yr afon
 
Y gwely hwn
Y traeth
Y cof hwn
Amser maeth

​mh

2
Eye of the Ebb/Tide
​
Water: his
Wave: hers
His sea
Her rivers
 
His bed,
His beach,
His memory
Beyond reach.

​mh

​This piece plays on the gender of nouns associated with water. The English version translates the gender of the Welsh nouns with the possessive 'his/her'. The title literally translated is 'the eye of the ebb/tide' and means 'the turn of the ebb'.

​mh

3.
​Sêr y Lli
 
Os mynd a dod wna'r samander
bob cam hyd ddiwedd amser,
yn rhwydi'r môr di-bryder
dwy law swil sy'n dal sêr.
 
Eu dal a'u bwrw i'r nadi wen,
nadi'r dymuniade,
eu bwrw o ddwrn i'r berw ddŵr
i buro gwlith y bore.
 
Barish barish eu bore,
Barish barish yn boer,
Barish barish eu hwyrddydd
Barish holl aansu'r lloer.
 
Yna, cânt roi'i gadw pob aansu bach
yn nhonnau'r pyllau pellach,
nes daw eu duw i ddweud nos da,
nes i anwedd eu pasina
ddisgyn disgyn ar y dŵr -
dŵr oer eu darya
hyd nes i gân y pani
roi llais i sêr y lli',
ei roi bob cam hyd ddiwedd amser
ym mynd a dod y samander.

​mh

Urdu | Welsh | English

​samander
cefnfor
ocean

nadi
nant
stream

barish
glaw
rain

aansu
deigryn
tear

pasina
chwys
sweat

pani
dŵr
water

darya
afon
river

​This poem blends seven key Urdu words for forms of water to tell the story of two shy souls who insist on catching the stars they see in the great ocean. Through this work they become part of the great hydrologic cycle - evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff.

​They seem to be oblivious to the dangers of the oceans, and insist on chasing stars. This they will do until the end of time.

​mh

4.
Cracked
 
It dropped,
 
a murmur
on the membrane of memory
 
and then, again, it dropped
 
and then again and again and again
 
until
the parchment that pretended to be a pool
now wet
with the breath of warm water
gave way
and beneath the cool surface
terror trembled
 
quaking green and ultramarine
rgb cmyk
no night no day
pixelling startched uniform-white
and out of sight
its see-through blue
launched a grey-black attack
 
and all remembering was caught
in feint reflections
between the cracks of paint.

​mh

5.
Afon (ar ôl llifogydd Pacistan)
 
Gwelais ei gwely gwag a dim ond ôl
holl lif ei hanes hi, dim mwy na llaid
a chrych, a chraith llifeiriant lond ei chôl -
dim byd ond 'och' lle bu ei ffrwd ddi-baid;
fe'm dallwyd gan ddisgleirdeb pelydr pwyll
y dyddiau heulog araf, dyddiau'r rhoi,
heb weld o dan ei hwyneb donnau'r twyll,   
murmuron bach tynerwch fyddai'n troi;
o dan ei chwrlid sidan yr oedd llafn
yn disgwyl, disgwyl dydd gwresogi'r hin,
ac ym meddalwch pluog pob un dafn
o'i chyfansoddiad roedd cynddaredd blin.
Lle torrodd wal ei dŵr, daeth enfys mud.
Rwy'n amau'i fod e yno, yno o hyd.

mh

​

​​www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62704004

6
Môn

 gwallt Mam wedi britho hyd at benwyndod,
tueddai holl helbulon y dydd fynd uwch ei phen
y dyddie hyn.
 
Ond yr heddiw hwn,
os synhwyrodd hi'r
adenydd dur
yn gadael am y dwyrain,
yr hyn a welodd
â llygad pob cof, pob gobaith,
oedd llygad barcud
yn cadw golwg drosti,
 
ac yn hollt aur yr eiliad lwyd,
lygad yn llygad,
doedd ganddi ddim amheuaeth
pwy fyddai piau'r nefoedd uwch ben.

mh

​6
Anglesey
​
With Mother's hair matted to a headiness,
all the troubles of the day tended to go over her head
this day

But this day,
if she sensed
the steel wings
leaving for the east,
what he saw
​with the eye of
every memory,
every hope,

was a watchful eye watching
​over her,
and in the golden split of the gray moment,
eye to eye she had no doubt who would be the heavens above.

mh

7.
Hushed Water
 
A sack held, tight as a secret,
the quivering, quaking light,
and though its quiet cargo
frothed in fright,
somehow, still, it kept its mouth shut.

​mh

8
twice world

twice drop
twice moon
twice cloud
too soon
twice dance
twice date
twice chance
too late
twice shy
twice bitten
twice apart
too forgotten

​mh

Môn | Anglesey - ​Single channel video, 19 sec loop, 2022

Hushed Water - ​Single channel video, 14 sec loop, 2022

Twice World - Single channel video, 45 sec loop, 2022

The poems Môn, Hushed Water and Twice World respond to the accompanying videos created as utterances lifting from feelings associated with water.
​Vimeo Links Uniform White  Twice World  Môn  Hushed Water

9
Un diferyn
 
Bu cynfas, a bu artist
yn ddyfal wrth ei gwaith
yn ceisio dal holl liwiau
y môr yn llenwi’r traeth
 
Dal y cerrig gleision, dal y tonnau i gyd,
dal pelydrau’r hafau yn ‘fesul dau’ o hyd.
 
Ond heddiw y mae artist
sy’n deall beth yw gwerth
yr un diferyn lleiaf,
a gwybod am ei nerth.
 
Mae’n gweld ei bod yn gyfan,
yn gyflawn ynddi’i hun,
a bod 'mond un diferyn
yn gallu llenwi’r llun.
 
A phan ddaw dydd i estyn
yn ôl i’r ‘fesul dau’,
gwn, rywsut, bydd yr artist,
yn cofio’r defnyn llai.
 
Y darn yng ngwyn yr ewyn, y darn yng nglas y don,
y darn yn aur y tywod, darn bach o galon hon.

​mh
 

​Mererid Hopwood came to the Chair of the Welsh and Celtic Studies in January 2021. She has spent her career in the fields of languages, literature, education and the arts. She has won the National Eisteddfod of Wales’ Chair, Crown and Prose Medal and in 2016 won the Welsh Book of the Year prize for poetry for her collection of poems, Nes Draw. She has been children’s poet laureate of Wales (Bardd Plant Cymru) and in 2018 won the Tir na n’Og prize for her writing for children. In 2020 she won the inaugural Emyr Humphries Prize for the most innovative writing about Wales. She has composed words for musicians, visual artists and dancers, and has taken part in literature festivals in Europe, Asia and South America. She has translated many works of literature into Welsh including plays from Spanish and German for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. She is Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the Academi Gymreig, and Honorary President of the Waldo Williams Society. She is the secretary of the Academi Heddwch Cymru, Wales’ Peace Institute.

​Ayessha Quraishi (b. 1970) lives and works in Karachi. Having received her initial art training from Karachi-based educator Nayyar Jamil, she has been working for over three decades developing her signature technique and visual language. Her practice employs gestural mark-making. And she often integrates drawing, painting and digital media to explore themes of impermanence and memory. She has been a finalist for the 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize and the recipient of the ADA Award 2021. She is a Fellow of Stories from Southern Pakistan, Patakha Pictures 2023. Her recent exhibitions include Flow, Mission Gallery, Swansea 2023 and Sculptor/Sculpture, COMO Museum, Lahore 2022. Her monograph Between Light - Ayessha Quraishi Works: 1985-2020 accompanying her mid-career retrospective of the same name was published in February 2020. Quraishi's work is in private collections in Europe, the United States of America and Asia and the permanent collections of HBL Mega Towers and the Rangoonwala Foundation UK.

Artwork and Video | Ayessha Quraishi
Poems and Audio clips | Mererid Hopwood
Artwork photography | Jamal Ashiqain and Ayessha Quraishi