Y Bala: Anna Jane Houghton and Abbie Bradshaw

Y Bala: Anna Jane Houghton and Abbie Bradshaw

Y Bala seeks to encompass two practices, which use performance and sound to activate ambient and tacit histories of space. The exhibition combines themes of welsh folklore, narrative objects (primarily vessels), cinematic tropes of women in the folk-horror genre, body as primal investigative tool in landscape and the auditory presence of place. The project is a collaboration between artists Anna Jane Houghton and Abbie Bradshaw, Y Bala acts as a sister exhibition to Lido (2022), partnered in their exploration of the space between, activating presence, and the validity of place through its relation to that of another.

Y Bala interrogates folklore as its spring board, in particular the tale of Lake Bala also known as Llyn Tegid, known for its legend of having a sunken town beneath its surface. There are two recorded versions of how the flooding occurred. This concept of augmented truths is a key theme throughout Y Bala. Firstly, in that it allows chance artefacts found within a space to aid the realisation of a chosen belief. Secondly how the recounting, or in this case, recording of site, will always be subject to ones own experience within it, particularly the communication of women’s experience of landscape in folk-horror cinema, often considered representational and prone to emotional bias rather than a definitive portrayal.

Y Bala in its form is primarily the act of performance documented cinematically exploring lost space through bodily activation and curated narratives that are unearthed through the surface of our skin, generating a primal tacit knowledge.

Y Bala has found a natural link to the this years Liverpool Biennial 2023 title, Umoya: A Sacred Return of Lost Things- the lost town of Bala that lives under the surface of the water, lost spaces, lost objects and lost narratives.

About the artists: Anna Jane Houghton & Abbie Bradshaw

More than just space, TRS is a community that makes a career as an artist in Liverpool a viable and accessible option through access to a support network and development opportunities through our local and national networks.

We aim to support outstanding emerging and mid-career artists by providing the highest quality, affordable studio spaces within a supportive community. Our programme includes public exhibitions, residencies, exchanges, critiques, research, events, training and community activities. We currently support over 40 artists through our studio membership and residency scheme. Our mission is to support artists to create sustainable and viable careers in the North West.

Founded in 2006 in a small pub in Dingle, The Royal Standard originally emerged from the need for a middle ground in Liverpool — somewhere in between smaller DIY grassroots arts incentives and larger institutions. In 2008, The Royal Standard undertook an ambitious relocation and expansion into a larger industrial space on the Northern periphery of the City Centre to a site on Vauxhall Road, relaunching to acclaim for the Liverpool Biennial 2008, which coincided with the city’s year as European Capital of Culture. Read more about our history.

Since then, we have thrived on account of the hard work of our team and local artists, and are now situated in our third, most ambitious location in the Baltic Triangle. Over the years, we have delivered a multitude of exhibitions and events spanning 322 days open to the public, working with 429 different artists and creatives, and welcoming over 10,000 audience members through our doors.