In November, Llanelli based Environmental Sound Artist, Cheryl Beer, became the first solo artist from Wales to exhibit in the House of Commons at Westminster Palace, placing her Cân y Coed Rainforest Symphony at the heart of politics.
Having successfully secured an Unlimited Main Commission, supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Cheryl spent a year working as a resident Environmental Sound Artist in the Rainforests of Wales, guided by Coed Cadw. By repurposing hearing aid technology and other biomedical equipment, she discovered how to visually record activity from beneath the bark.
Back at her studio, she notated these readings, composing music led by nature itself. Cheryl says:
"What began as a healing practice to nurture my sudden hearing loss, has organically grown into an international campaign, empowering the voice of fragile ecologies & recognising our vulnerability within them."
In her blog, she gives a personal insight into her House of Commons exhibition, the journey of how 'Cân y Coed Rainforest Symphony' came to be, and also gives thanks to the team of organisations that supported her in its creation.