© Ken Griffiths, Indian Woman and Two Boys, Dolavon, 27 – 30 April 2002
Michael Hoppen Gallery 3 Jubilee Place SW3 3TD London Royaume-Uni
In 2001 and 2002 photographer Ken Griffiths set out on three expeditions to the Argentine province of Chubut, the heartland of Welsh Patagonia. Ken visited Chubut in different seasons of the year to follow the trails blazed south and west by intrepid young Welsh pioneers. Between 1870 and 1900 they travelled the interior of the country and reached the Andes along what is now the Chilean frontier.
Ken decided that he wanted to avoid all the clichés of photo-journalists who travel to Gaiman for a day or two, visit a Welsh tea-room, and come back. Instead he was determined to set out to record, in image, the entire scope of the Welsh achievement in that part of the New World. Ken’s family left Wales for New Zealand and he has now made England his home for several decades. As an immigrant himself, Ken was moved from the outset by the quest of the Welsh for a home where they could preserve their culture and their language.
Michael Hoppen Contemporary is showcasing Ken Griffiths’s beautiful and evocative photographs. These visualise a powerful sense of place and depict the rugged daily life of the Welsh community that continues to reside there. The pictures were the original inspiration for the recently released feature film Patagonia, starring Matthew Rhys, Nia Roberts and Duffy, directed by Marc Evans. Ken himself made the still photographs during the making of the film. Each photograph has been produced as a Carbro colour print, a traditional printing process invented in 1863. To our knowledge Gerard Aniere is the only person able to use this unique and permanent process and we are delighted to exhibit these hand made images.
The major sponsor of the exhibition Patagonia is The Mayfair House.
Vignette: © Ken Griffiths, Indian Woman and Two Boys, Dolavon, 27 – 30 April 2002.