Exploring Snowdon: A Journey Through Time – An upcoming exhibition at the University of Chester

An upcoming exhibition at the University of Chester, titled ‘Retracing Footsteps: The Changing Landscape of Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon’, aims to share the enduring fascination of Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon as it is commonly known.

This interdisciplinary showcase, featuring photography, text, and moving image, is the result of a collaborative research project between Dr. Cian Quayle from the Department of Art and Design and Dr. Daniel Bos from the Department of Geography and the Environment, with contributions from BA Photography graduates Jane Evans and Emma Petruzzelli.

This exhibition draws on the team’s field visits to Snowdon during the summer of 2023.

It not only celebrates the mountain’s majesty but also scrutinises the footprint of its nearly 600,000 annual visitors. The exhibition juxtaposes contemporary images with 19th-century summit hut visitor book entries, providing a historical context to today’s experiences.

These entries, preserved by the National Library of Wales and Bangor University Archives, reflect the impressions of Victorian tourists, offering insights into Snowdon’s past allure.

Further enriching the exhibition, Dr. Quayle’s research into J.M.W. Turner’s works from his Welsh tour, housed at Tate Britain, provides a visual dialogue between the mountain’s depiction across centuries.

This first iteration of a long-term research project probes not only the aesthetic experience of ascending Snowdon but also the broader implications of tourism, environmental sustainability, and the mountain’s role in Welsh cultural identity.

The exhibition is housed in the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC) at Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Chester, a city centre initiative that repurposes former retail spaces into creative arenas. This innovative use of urban space is emblematic of the exhibition’s theme of revisiting and reimagining landscapes.

Supported by the University’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Institute and the Culture and Society’s Breaking Boundaries funding, the exhibition is open from November 10 to December 9, 2023.

It operates every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. Further details can be requested via [email protected], inviting both art enthusiasts and environmental advocates to engage with the mountain’s multifaceted narrative.