An artist known for playful work that explores the relationship between man-made infrastructures and the natural world has been named as artist in residence for a joint Elan Links and Aberystwyth Arts Centre project.

Gweni Llwyd has been awarded the joint residency and will spend four weeks in the Elan Valley and four weeks in Aberystwyth, building links between both locations.

Currently splitting her time between the Netherlands and Wales, Gweni is studying for a Masters in Fine Art at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.

She will receive support from Aberystwyth Arts Centre’s curator, Ffion Rhys, and artist and project manager, Richard Powell.

The residency is offering an opportunity to create a discourse between these very different locations framed through the lens of water as resource, land use and the climate emergency.

Elan Links scheme manage, Esther Wakeling said: “We are excited to partner with Aberystwyth Arts Centre to offer a two-part residency in 2023, building on the success of previous residencies here at Elan Valley.

“We feel Gweni Llwyd has the potential to tease out new threads of Elan’s story and that she will harness the opportunity of the residency programme by bringing her practise back to basics.”

Gweni said: “In my recent projects, I’ve been examining the symbiotic relationships between human-made infrastructures and the natural world, exploring industrial pasts, and imagining their futures. What might they look, sound, and feel like? Who might live there? I frequently use sites – such as rivers, quarries, and experiences with land and people as starting points, so I’m looking forward to seeing where Cwm Elan and Aberystwyth take me and my making.

“I usually work with sound, drawing, video, computer animation and installation, so I’m really excited to strip my making back to basics while on the residency, leave the confines of some of the technologies I work with a lot, and see what happens while immersed in fascinating locations.

“I hope to develop a body of work in Cwm Elan and Aberystwyth that directly relates to my time getting to know the land, human and more-than-human inhabitants of these places.”

Elan Links and Aberystwyth received over 60 applications in the most recent round, from a diverse range of artists both national and international.

This is the final year of a highly successful and creatively productive programme for the artists and communities at Elan

In partnering with prestigious arts institution Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Elan Links hopes to introduce a further dimension to the residency scheme, and secure a legacy for the project.