Artist Reflects Gaza Tragedies Through Art
Diana Williams, an artist from Felinheli, created a powerful piece of art inspired by news reports about Gaza. A retired teacher, Diana won the People's Choice Award at the Galeri in Caernarfon for her emotionally charged artwork.
The award is part of Open Exhibition 2025, which invites submissions from professionals, students, and hobbyists alike to participate in the annual exhibition at the Galeri.
Diana admits she watches the news from early morning until night, and the events she witnesses worldwide inspire her creativity.
"It's quite a difficult piece of art to look at, but I was so pleased that people took the time and were able to feel some emotion and connection to the artwork," Diana said on the Llwyfan program on BBC Radio Cymru.
Artwork Depicts Gaza's Tragic Story
The winning artwork tells a sorrowful story from Gaza, featuring the names of 300 children who died, embroidered in red on a child's baptismal gown.
"I watch quite a bit of Al Jazeera news, a 24-hour Middle East channel, and one story stood out to me about a Christian community in the middle of Gaza city," Diana explained.
In October 2023, a Christian church used as a shelter was bombed.
"This community was about to baptize three children together with their families in the church when suddenly the church was bombed, killing the three children who were to be baptized and most of their families," Diana said.
This event deeply affected Diana and motivated her to highlight the situation in Gaza.
Creating the Artwork
While on a trip to buy car sealant in Gwalchmai on Anglesey, Diana found an old baptismal gown for sale. She purchased it with the idea of creating a piece to commemorate the Gaza events.
"Although it was old, it looked new. I wanted to use a new one to convey the artwork but also wanted the trauma and war's aftermath on the garment," she said.
Diana soaked the gown in drain cleaner to simulate decay and tore it to show the visible wounds within society.
"It probably took about a week to tear it as I wanted. I thought if I didn't stop, it would have torn completely," she added.
She then embroidered the names of children under one year old who had died onto the gown. Over 300 names were stitched.
Reaction to Winning
After learning she had won, Diana felt immense pride despite initial shock.
"I was quite emotional, and I'm so pleased people took the time to vote. I hope the artwork offers a different insight," she said.
Judges and Other Winners
The Open Exhibition 2025 judges were Llŷr Evans, Ella Louise Jones, Ffion Evans (Gallery Art and Wellbeing Manager), and Nia Arfon (Gallery CEO).
Other category winners included Sioned Medi Evans, who won the Judges' Award, and Gwyn Williams, who received a High Commendation.
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