public sculpture commission
by kathy dalwood 
for St David's 2
Cardiff

about St David's 2

St David's 2 is an exciting new development coming to the Capital City of Wales. The development once open in 2009 will enhance the existing shopping and city living in Cardiff.

As one of the most important city developments in the UK today and currently the largest private financial investment in Wales, the scheme builds on present assets including the existing St David's Shopping Centre and much of the Hayes. The scheme is set to transform the Southern end of the City and give a currently underused area a new lease of life by creating attractive and safe public spaces for people to enjoy, alongside a unique and exciting contemporary retail space which caters to the needs of the 21st century shopper.

link to St Davids 2 website

the site

A large shopping mall within 
the St David’s 2 development 

the brief

To create four 9m x 800mm plaster friezes to be installed around an overhead circular bulkhead, lit from a glass dome above.

The design should make reference to the history and heritage of Cardiff and to the medieval site on which St David's 2 is being constructed.

artist's proposal

To create a collage of imagery within each 9m long frieze re-telling the story of Cardiff. Most of the motifs echo ones to be found in the early 20th century sculptures on the facades of Cardiff City Hall.

In 1900 sculptors were commissioned to create a series of reliefs to symbolise the city’s history and status as an industrial port with global reach.

In contrast to these sculpted panels, in my latter day versions the imagery will be indented and cast from real life objects.

One of the 4 friezes will use motifs which allude to the medieval guilds which were once established on the site.

The friezes will be cast in white strengthened plaster (Glass Reinforced Gypsum)

Proposal images below

scroll to end to see original Cardiff City Hall reliefs

installation date

February 2009

proposal images showing ideas for the 4 friezes

These are plaster casts with the imagery indented (although it often appears to the eye in relief when viewed as a 2 dimensional image)
Each frieze will be divided into 9 one metre panels - some panels will repeat across the length of the frieze.
All the motifs are cast from real-life objects and then enlarged using new polymer technology

The final 4 friezes will incorporate a much larger range of imagery - in fact they will include more than 50 different motifs, mostly contemporary interpretations of imagery in the Cardiff City Hall reliefs (shown at the end of the page)