Kathryn Ashill
FOOLS GOLD 2021
'Fools Gold' by Kathryn Ashill is her first exhibition in a public art gallery, and is the result of the Sir Leslie Joseph Young Artist Award, administered by the Friends of Glynn Vivian. The biennial award is open to young artists throughout the UK who have undertaken part of their education in Wales, and offers an excellent opportunity for an emerging artist to have their first solo exhibition in a public gallery.
Fools Gold is a video installation, which explores the artist’s paternal history. Ashill’s father would collect her Iron Pyrites (fools gold) from a surface mine near their home deep in the Tawe Valleys, South Wales. The work moves between this autobiographical narrative and the history of the Louis XIV, nicknamed the Sun King after he danced for courtiers and forced them to worship him, whilst he was dressed head to toe in gold.'
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Press 2021