Greetings from Bala Lake

Be our guest is a new and alternative Bed & Breakfast that opens its doors this summer for local residents and visitors to Oriel Davies in Newtown, presenting existing and new works by over 30 artists that reflect the experiences, attributes and desires associated with the notion of the traditional B&B and the holiday experience.

Greetings from Bala Lake draws its inspiration from B&B ephemera and the distinctive culture that sees British holiday-makers travel the country in search of scenic viewing-spots, landmarks, folk stories and on occasion shelter from soggy summer days. In these circumstances the leaflet rack is a quintessential B&B object, the indispensible, but often overlooked, go-to guide.

Goddard’s own experience of visiting a B&B on Bala Lake was the beginning of his extensive research into The Beast of Bala. This project presents the opportunity for his research to adopt a physical form, part myth, part genuine archive, infiltrating the gallery environment.

Thomas Goddard is an artist based in Swansea, Wales. His practice explores the relationship between the individual and society, the role of misinformation through the media and its effects on contemporary culture through the power of suggestibility and misattribution.

Supporting new and experimental work by artists based in Wales and the Borders.