Our latest exhibition showcases a collection of images shot on film by Welsh artist Clare-Marie Bailey, who created imagery for Gwenno’s fourth album ‘Utopia.’
Each picture captures a moment in the diverse landscapes that inspired the album—from the vibrant energy of Las Vegas to the urban backdrops of London. The exhibition offers a glimpse into the soul of the album in ways that only film can convey. Each photograph tells a story as ‘Utopia’ unfolds frame by frame. Gwenno and Clare-Marie Bailey will be on stage for a Q&A on the day of the gig.
Clare Marie Bailey is a Welsh photographer and filmmaker based on Anglesey. Largely self-taught, Clare works with film to create alternative & ‘parallel’ worlds & is fascinated with the idea of ‘doubles’ and ‘doppelgangers and the concept of reinvention.
Her work featured on the cover of Gwenno’s critically acclaimed album Tresor and provided the cinematography for Gwenno’s accompanying film. It has been featured in several publications internationally & has been exhibited worldwide and is represented by Polaroid artist Stephanie Schneider.
43 years into her life, Gwenno Saunders has been many people. The disaffected Cardiff schoolgirl; the teenage Las Vegas dancer; the singer in indie pop group The Pipettes. There was a turn in a Bollywood film, a nightclub tour, a stint cleaning floors in an East London pub. Long before she would become an acclaimed solo songwriter in both Welsh and Cornish, a winner of the Welsh Music Prize, a nominee for the Mercury, a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh, there were the days of Nevada, London, Brighton; of Irish dancing, techno clubs, messiness and chaos.
‘Utopia’, Saunders’ fourth solo album, is an extraordinary exploration of all of these selves. If the singer regards her first three solo records — 2014’s Y Dydd Olaf, 2018’s Le Kov and 2022’s Tresor as “childhood records”, rooted in her upbringing, her parents, her formative identity, then Utopia captures a time of self-determination and experimentation. These are songs of discovery, of the years between being someone’s daughter and becoming someone’s wife and someone’s mother. They range from floor-fillers to piano ballads, via contributions from Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline, and encompass William Blake, a favourite Edrica Huws poem, and the Number 73 bus. It is her finest work to date.
There is a sense of revelation to Utopia, a feeling markedly different to that of previous records. Having released three albums in Welsh and Cornish, Utopia is Gwenno’s first album recorded predominantly in English, and presents a very different side to her life and songwriting.
‘Utopia’ is released via Heavenly Recordings on July 11th, 2025 and available to pre-order here.
