National Eisteddfod 2010

Simon Fenoulhet was awarded the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the 2010 National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale by a panel of judges that included curator Chris Coppock, artist John Selway and jeweller Pamela Rawnsley. His installations, Vivid Seam and Line upon Line were included in the annual survey of contemporary art in Wales.

“Light, with all its enchanting and beguiling properties, is an underlying characteristic at the root of this artist's practice,” said Chris Coppock on behalf of the selectors. “Simon Fenoulhet delights in literally illuminating and re-presenting banal every day objects and materials, set in new and unworldly contexts.”

Fittingly, this year’s Visual Arts Exhibition is accommodated in the Stack Annealer Basement - one of subterranean spaces on the site of the former Ebbw Vale Steel Works, where the National Eisteddfod of Wales is being held. “I use light as my primary means of presenting and changing the objects I employ.” said Simon Fenoulhet. “Glowing tubes or straws can be transformed by the simple act of making the light come from within rather than reflecting off the surface. They stand in isolation from their surroundings as the only source of illumination and take on a beauty and iridescence that is not normally associated with household objects.“