AN interpretation of Blaenavon’s landscape will be held this October at the town’s Heritage Centre.

A Sense of Place by Steven Ward is a a close examination of the landscape and its significance in shaping who we are.

Stephen explained, “Embedded in this landscape amongst the detritus of industrial waste, I found a strong sense of human presence.

“A close relationship with the landscape and its histories has developed into the main source of my work, evoking a growing sense of belonging. To respond to the landscape from within, not as an onlooker representing the land from outside. I believe that an emotional investment in place is an essential element in responding to that place and the landscape that place exists.

"I have set out to achieve this, through and in many instances, a physical engagement with my work. This stimulates strong thoughts of who and what we are and where we belong."

Born in 1954 and having relocated from Sheffield in the mid 60’s, Steven is now firmly rooted in South Wales.

He explained, "It is here that my wife and I have brought up our family and where I have spent my working life in the steel industry.

"In 2008 I fulfilled a lifelong ambition, ( some say a mid-life crisis) and embarked on a BA Honours degree at the University of Glamorgan where I gained first-class honours and was awarded the Branwen Thomas award.

"My training amongst many other things helped me focus on the essence of my work. Connectedness has been a strong emotion within me and my work taps into where and how we fit in the world."

Steve said, "Rootedness, Connectedness, sense of place and identity, are titles that invariably set off an instant emotional understanding. But do we stop and think what these words actually mean to each of us. Rootedness, for example, has the effect of transporting you back to childhood place, a place of memories and experiences cocooned in community and home.

"What connects us to a place? In childhood, the family may be a strong foundation for connectedness, but in later life and far from our birth pace what connections would we make. What is identity and where do we acquire it?

"Can rootedness occur in more than one place and can this be stronger than childhood rootedness? So are roots important? Or is the experience of and growing into a place, the essence of belonging.

"Connectedness is a strong emotion within my art, in grounding it to the idea of place. My place began in South Yorkshire, but my connectedness now is in an area of South Wales. A place which is geologically similar to that of South Yorkshire, coal mining and steel manufacturing are features of both areas."

Steven added, "The history deep inside our land calls into questions our past, where we are now, our future and on times our unwitting disassociation with nature."

A Sense of Place by Stephen Ward can be seen at the Blaenavon Heritage Centre between October 6-20.