Hi Swantv Viewer
Today we filmed in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. We looked at His Dark Materials and also visited a Mosaics Class that was running.
The His Dark Materials exhibition has a cool selection of props and costumes from the BBC drama series and we had an uplifling tour with Gemma Mughini of the Gallery. You can see the video on the Main Page and Events Page too.
His Dark Materials is a World Building in Wales exhibition and The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is delighted to present, in partnership with Bad Wolf, IJPR Media and Screen Alliance Wales, a look behind-the-scenes of BBC and HBO’s multi-award-winning, His Dark Materials. The exhibition is open to the public and free until Sunday 23 April 2023. Opening hours 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Last entry 4:30pm but closed Mondays. I would certainly recommend this exhibition.
If you have not visited the Gallery before it is the large building down past the main police station and BBC studios on Alexandra Road, opposite the Old Library. I find that there is often a free kerbside parking space opposite the Gallery. It is only a short walk from the railway station or city centre.
The creation of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery was made possible when in 1905 Richard Glynn Vivian offered his collection of paintings, drawings and china to the city with an endowment of £10,000. The donor laid the foundation stone himself in 1909, but it was after his death that the Gallery was formally opened in 1911, with "great enthusiasm and gaiety".
Glynn Vivian's collection, like most private collections, was eclectic. By donations – including the Deffett Francis collection of prints and drawings and the Kildare S.Meager bequest of Swansea china – and by purchases the Gallery's holdings have become more representative of the range of European art, while remaining rich in the work of local artists. The gallery also presents loan exhibitions and events, and has an educational programme.
But returning to His Dark Materials. This is set in a multi-world reality, with the action moving from one world to another. The series is based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name. It begins in an alternative world where all humans' souls manifest as animal companions called daemons. The series follows the life of a young girl named Lyra who is an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, in a world governed by the Magisterium, a religious and political body. Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter, and is the subject of a witches' prophecy that she will change the world. In her search for a missing friend,
Lyra also uncovers a series of kidnappings and a link to a mysterious
substance called Dust,
which leads her on a journey of epic proportions and ultimately to
other worlds. The witches' prophecy also links Lyra's destiny to Will, a teenager from our world, who is himself being pursued by figures connected to his vanished father.And now series Three is being screened by the BBC from 18th December.
There are some huge props from the production in the Atrium including two large bears, a selection of huge bones and a massive angel that I understand took 4 weeks to create. It is only when you see the scale of these props that you realise that much of the work was done in the studio and not digitally.
I was struck by the detail in both the costumes and props of all sizes. There is a selection of handwritten letters, each individually written: the costumes are made down to the last stitch, the materials used look authentic! The Gallery displays many of the costumes and many props including the alethiometer, the important instrument that guides Lyra through her famtastical journey. In addition there are several photographs taken during production and video clips taken during shooting.
Watch series three on BBC1 Sunday 18th December at 7.00pm or catch-up the whole three series on the BBC I-player. Go to the exhibition and the whole series comes alive.
Regards
Mike Leahy Swantv Community Interest Company Ltd
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