Into the light of things

For her solo exhibition, Into the light of things, in 2021 at Newton House, Llandeilo, Ainsley produced a series of new weavings and sound works inspired by the landscape and trees of the Dinefwr parkland as well as other ancient woodlands in Carmarthenshire. Taken from the William Wordsworth poem, The Tables Turned, the title of the exhibition calls us to look beyond the confines of our formal education and to allow nature to be our teacher. It suggests that by experiencing nature and existing within it mindfully, we can learn of the world in a more rounded way that involves our senses and our bodies as well as our intellect. The exhibition was installed throughout Newton House combining the intricate skills of contemporary weaving and site-specific sound. Large scale jacquard weavings installed on the first floor depict the parkland meadows to the front of Newton House. The weavings transfigure original photographic images which, by their nature, capture the essence of a moment in time. Through the weaving process, these images are then transformed into three-dimensional structures, merging the material nature of the threads with the two-dimensional photographic image. These very different ways of encountering the world meet in the surface texture of the woven panels, engaging our senses in an experience beyond just the visual. The project was funded by the Arts Council of Wales. In partnership with the National Trust.