Description

Especially when the October wind

(Some let me make you of autumnal spells,

The spider-tongued, and the loud hill of Wales)

With fist of turnips punishes the land,

Some let me make you of the heartless words.

The heart is drained that, spelling in the scurry

Of chemic blood, warned of the coming fury.

By the sea’s side hear the dark-vowelled birds

The embossed map makes reference to Thomas’ ‘loud hill of Wales’ and also relates to previous map work in which the urban environment and society of Swansea has been explored. Mirroring this form is a ‘crabbing’ shadow made up ofshapes that refer to ‘grasses’ and ‘frosty fingers’.The crabbing shadow can also be read as a reflection in water of the town on the hill over the sea, Swansea.

The combination of these elements, formally denotes an ovum, a metaphor for birth, a theme which is not takendirectly fromthe text of the poem but is inherent in Thomas’ birth and pre birth poetry.

The juxtaposition of two printmaking techniques adds to the interest of this work. The embossed hill and the silkscreen reflection create a clean, crisp and pristine image, which is visually economic in contrast to the text on which it is based. The combination of techniques, for example, collagraph and silkscreen, introduces notions of multi-layered societies who inhabit similar spaces in the city.