Barry – Vale of Glamorgan Council – Exhibition – HMD 2026
Activity information
Activity type: Public activity
Organisation name: Barry- Vale of Glamorgan Council
Address:
Art Central Gallery
Town Hall King Square
Barry
Vale Of Glamorgan
CF63 4RW
United Kingdom
Richard Bowers, Vanishing Point
Art Central Gallery, Barry - Holocaust Memorial Day Exhibition, 2026
Saturday 17 January until Saturday 28 February 2026
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is marking Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) with various events. Art Central Gallery’s contribution is an art installation – Vanishing Point – by Penarth-based artist, Richard Bowers.
This year, the Holocaust Memorial Trust’s theme, Bridging Generations, reminds us of the responsibility of remembrance, the historic genocides and atrocities that have left their mark today. To honour, remember and carry forward survivors’ legacies, through individual life stories, books, films, and other interpretations. By highlighting the power of intergenerational dialogue, listening to those who came before us and sharing stories with those who follow afterwards, we preserve memory and connect it to the present.
Richard Bowers' mixed media art installation, Vanishing Point, at Art Central Gallery raises visitors’ awareness of a range of relevant themes by connecting the past, present, and future.
The artist refers to George Santayana's famous quote from The Life of Reason: "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it", providing a pragmatic view of our responsibility to remember and learn from past catastrophes.
Bowers draws the visitor in with extraordinary life-size monochrome canvas panoramas of ruins, a shoreline forming a barricade that stands tall against contemporary sculptural works reminiscent of rafts, drifting. They carry a message of displacement, loss, freedom, and hope.
The sound and visual effects from eight monoliths are derived from previous developmental works created by Bowers. The sound of a low hum, as if from a factory, punctuated with the sound of bells, creates a spatial effect; at intervals, transfigured folk-like melodies impact on our senses. While being historically non-specific, the work creates an unmistakable sense of desolation, prompting us into thinking of others, past and present.
Bowers says: “In a visual reference to Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa, I regard the rafts as representative of a search on the one hand, and exile on the other. They are crossing over to the unnamed shore; to the afterlife, or as political refugees seeking a safe haven.”
As a multi-media artist, Richard Bowers integrates painting, sculpture, sound, and video. Musical composition is an important feature that animates otherwise inert elements. He often uses computer programming as the means of composition, where the software environment is a workshop in which to develop, evaluate, and render musical materials. This environment also affords him control over the way the work is presented – algorithmic processes serve to regenerate the work in such a way that it never repeats identically. Richard's works have appeared in numerous venues, festivals and events in Wales and the UK.
Cllr Rhiannon Birch, Cabinet Member for Education Arts and Welsh Language, expressed her delight that a locally-based artist, Richard Bowers, was exhibiting at this year’s Holocaust exhibition, stating: "It is important that we continue to mark this date, aiming to raise awareness of lessons learnt from the past, particularly as we, recognise and understand the impact of unrest on lives today. We hope that we can help to make a difference, to inform and enlighten people, if only to make small changes in the/our world every day."
This is the first exhibition for 2026, marking the beginning of the 20th Anniversary year for Art Central Gallery. The exhibition opens on Saturday 17 January with visitors welcome until Saturday 28 February 2026. For more information, please visit
Richard Bowers, Vanishing Point
Oriel Gelf Ganolog, y Barri - Arddangosfa Diwrnod Cofio'r Holocost, 2026
Dydd Sadwrn 17 Ionawr hyd at ddydd Sadwrn 28 Chwefror 2026
Mae cyngor Bro Morgannwg yn nodi Diwrnod Cofio'r Holocost (DCH) gyda digwyddiadau amrywiol. Cyfraniad yr Oriel Gelf Ganolog yw gosodiad celf – Vanishing Point - gan yr artist o Benarth, Richard Bowers.
Eleni, mae thema Ymddiriedolaeth Cofio’r Holocost, Pontio’r Cenedlaethau, yn ein hatgoffa o gyfrifoldeb cofio, yr hil-laddiadau a'r erchyllterau hanesyddol sydd wedi gadael eu hôl heddiw. I anrhydeddu, cofio a chario etifeddiaeth goroeswyr ymlaen, trwy straeon bywyd unigol, llyfrau, ffilmiau, a dehongliadau eraill. Trwy dynnu sylw at bŵer deialog rhwng cenedlaethau, gwrando ar y rhai ddaeth o'n blaen a rhannu straeon gyda'r rhai sy'n dilyn wedyn, rydym yn cadw'r cof a'i gysylltu â'r presennol.
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