Hannan Jones

A Frontier in Depth

2023 – 2025

National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon

Overview

Perspective(s), is an ambitious Welsh arts programme, that brings together seven ethnically and culturally diverse artists with a connection to Wales, working in collaboration with all seven Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales sites and visual arts organisations nationwide.

Perspective(s) examines hidden histories within Wales’ national museums, from Welsh Plains used to clothe enslaved Africans to the lavish red sofa of Robert Clive, a figure central to British colonialism in India. The programme tackles complex and painful legacies; it rethinks the past to pave the way for a more inclusive future, one that acknowledges the diverse contributions and experiences that have shaped Wales and the world.

Artists

Hannan Jones
Hannan Jones delves into ideas surrounding hybridity, language, cultural and social rhythms associated with migration, and psycho-geography.
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Portrait of Hannan Jones. Photography - Hicham Gardaf

Images

A film still shows a dark and starry sky

A museum exhibit of a glass vitrine of clay vessels against a cosmic background. A carved stone and an inscribed pillar are nearby

Dimly lit gallery with a circular projection on a white brick wall and a blue floating sphere in an adjacent alcove.

A dimly lit exhibit room with white stone walls and a wooden bench, featuring a large projected image of an circular stone carving, flanked by speakers.

A screen in a dim room with stone walls and a window displays a gloved hand holding an stone relief of a winged figure, with the subtitles "There we have Victoria, the winged victory," in English and Welsh subtitles.

Aerial view of a large, grassy Roman amphitheatre with tiered earthen banks.

Visitors on the grassy floor of a Roman amphitheatre with stone walls and green banks.

People relax on the grassy arena of an ancient stone amphitheatre.

As one of six new commissions as part of the umbrella ‘Perspective(s)’ project, Artes Mundi partnered with the National Roman Legion Museum.

Together we worked with artist Hannan Jones who developed an ambitious new body of work. ‘A Frontier in Depth’ investigates how shifting boundaries influence our understanding of identity and place through a sequence of presentations. For the commission, Jones produced a series of 16mm films, lead a series of community workshops and created a remarkable multi-channel audio installation, supported by a 12-inch vinyl record including various printed inserts and commissioned texts plus a published booklet.

The trilogy of short films, beginning in the National Roman Legion Museum’s subterranean archive, pictures displayed artefacts that embody multiple narratives, raising questions of how these items shape collective memory and fragmented histories. Expanding outward, the second film is driven by soundscapes around us, while the third focuses on the celestial – a tool for navigation and governance throughout time.

Collaborating with young people from Newport Youth Academy, members of Roots Newport and River Folk Pottery resulted in a series of new clay vessels embodying reflections on the present and future which were displayed in a vitrine amongst the permanent collection at the museum.

The project culminated in a new context-specific multi-channel soundscape within the Caerleon Amphitheatre, merging past and present to amplify imaginary potentials that could lie ahead.

Find out more about Perspective(s) and the other six artists.

The Perspective(s) Learning Toolkit shares the lessons behind an ambitious journey to bring fresh voices and perspectives into Wales' museums and galleries. Through honest reflection from artists, cultural organisations and museum professionals, it offers practical insights for anyone interested in anti-racist practice, inclusive storytelling and creating lasting change.

A collaboration with Arts Council of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, Perspective(s) forms part of Wales’s Anti-Racist Action Plan, with support from the Welsh Government.

Overview