ROB HOWELL

Cwlwm Dynion explores two interconnected themes: Men and textiles, and male connection.

 

The triptych honours the artist's male lineage—his two grandfathers and father, all of whom had military ties and lived and died in North East Wales: Herbert Higgs was conscripted in WWI aged 17, caught TB, and is depicted in a hospital in Belgium (died 1968, Towyn). Richard Howell, a regular soldier who served globally, was a Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant at Kinmel Camp during WWII (died 1974, Rhyl). Derek Howell completed national service with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in Wrexham (died 2012, Prestatyn).

 

The medium is inspired by 18th and 19th-century military quilts, traditionally made by men using wool uniform fabrics and the intarsia technique, a form of patchwork similar to marquetry. A notable example by James Williams was exhibited at the Eisteddfod in 1888. The portraits are based on family photographs, and their borders are updated military quilt designs, including outer blocks that reference military fortifications.

 

Following the tradition of military quilts made from tailors' offcuts or old uniforms, these works utilize 100% recycled fabrics.

 

The artist challenges the oversight of men's contribution to craft textiles, often sidelined as a female activity. While works like Rozsika Parker’s The Subversive Stitch and Joseph McBrinn’s Queering the Subversive Stitch may unintentionally discourage male involvement, both grandfathers were skilled, practical and decorative needlemen. The artist chooses textiles as a medium for conceptual representation. The central metaphor of a knot or stitch symbolises the strong, familial male connections within this work.