'A message of hope, rebirth and the power of art to create new futures'

Referencing the Mabinogion and demonstrating the power of storytelling to create change, the current show at Chapter, Cardiff, is a must-see, writes Jenny White

- Jenny White

THE transfixing centrepiece of Meadowsweet Palisade, Jenő Davies and Iolo Walker's current exhibition at Chapter in Cardiff, is Pinwydd, a 40-minute "DIY Blockbuster" reimagining the story of Blodeuwedd within Machynlleth's contemporary landscape.

It sees Blodeuwedd transformed not into an owl (as in the Mabinogion) but into a fighter jet, cursed to trace an infinite loop of destruction; to "fall into the horizon forever". Enslaved by her maker, Mr Candy (Math in the Mabinogion), Blod is a tool of his exploitative agenda, flying over his monoculture pine plantations that have replaced the wildwoods.

The film gorgeously combines high production values with a purposefully low-fi, DIY-crafted feel: think 1970s TV drama Monkey meets the 1996 Smashing Pumpkins' Tonight, Tonight music video with a touch of The Mighty Boosh and a side of video games.

Conceived and shot as a community project, it delivers on some of the artists' key aims: to use art as a means of weaving connection within communities; to address ecological concerns; and to envision a future beyond the grey grid of the current materialist/capitalist world.

Mr Candy is a brilliantly demented Yaldabaoth figure set on exploiting the world from his Sauron-style lair inside Machynlleth's landmark clock. He is master of the pine plantations, where trees are mere units of production, cut down before they have had the chance to make stories or pass on any of the things they have learnt in their short lives.