Description
The Landmark Wales public art project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund 'Living Landmarks' programme with the aim of inspiring renewed pride in Welsh cultural identity and nationhood, invited artist Janet Echelman to develop this art concept for the Second Severn Crossing site. This sculpture is a physical manifestation of the Welsh language being spoken, the forms tracing sound waves moving through space and time. It is a celebration of Cymraeg, a joyous expression of the human desire to not merely revere heritage but to live it, to keep it relevant and vibrant and adaptive and growing, historically aware yet at hand everyday. Here we can shout our joyful cry "Cross this line, and Welsh is heard."

Some viewers will naturally prefer a more visually recognizable reading of the sculpture, and for them I have layered visual references the legend of Y Draig Goch, awakening from burial beneath the earth. Red Dragon wings rise up from verdant Gwlad to fill with wind and movement, as if to defy gravity and awaken into flight, Dihuno'r Draig. The gossamer surfaces of red and white against the green backdrop create a new interpretation of the flag that bears its name.

The sculpture is a physical manifestation of the Welsh language being spoken, the forms tracing sound waves moving through space and time. It is a celebration of Cymraeg, an expression of the human desire to not merely revere heritage but to live it, to keep it relevant and vibrant and adaptive and growing, historically aware yet at hand everyday.

The project is layered with visual references to the legend of Y Draig Goch, awakening from burial beneath the earth. Red Dragon wings rise up from Gwlad to fill with wind and movement, as if to defy gravity and awaken into flight, Dihuno'r Draig. The ephemeral surfaces of red and white against the green backdrop create a new interpretation of the flag that bears its name.

The site determined placement and materiality of the sculpture. Sized approximately 40m high and 80m wide, with location to maximize compelling views from both car and train in all directions, and carefully engineered to withstand the harsh environmental site conditions. One of the site's formidable engineering challenges--its powerful coastal winds--is transformed into an animating force that makes the sculpture dance with the ever-changing choreography of wind to create a fitting new landmark for Wales.