Editor’s Choice: The Ugly Lovely Town Exhibition

By Kate Wild

The Ugly Lovely Town exhibition commemorates the Three Night Blitz of February 19th – 21st 1941, highlighting the devastation and destruction of those nights on the town of Swansea, and incorporates the changing image of Swansea Town to what we now call Swansea City. The main focus of the display is images – paintings and aerial photos of Swansea past and present. These images are accompanied by war memorabilia and echoes of Dylan Thomas.

Though modest, the exhibition offers personal details which add plenty of room for reflection. These details – such as journals, rationing cards, advertisements, and the story behind a wedding dress – all draw attention to how the war affected the home front in Swansea. The experience of the Blitz alone must have been terrifying – not knowing if you or your loved ones would survive the night or even if you would have a home to go to after the bombardment. The sense of community must have been incredible. Certain aspects of the exhibition, such as the wedding dress made of curtain material because there was not enough material for such extravagant luxuries, put our culture into perspective.

One section of the exhibition displays the bomb sites showing how Swansea has changed physically as a result of the Blitz; the audio accompaniment – personal accounts recorded by Blitz survivors – is there to give atmosphere to what you witness on the walk. Having not been on these walks myself, I would not like to pass judgement on the experience they produce, though I expect that to fully appreciate the experience you would require some imagination and a certain empathy for the victims of the Blitz.

The wartime paintings of Will Evans are also on display. His paintings, to me, give a realistic view of the morning after the night’s destruction – smoke remains in the air, there is a certain haze to everything, and buildings are still crumbling. There is a brutality about them, the details are laid bare for all to see. Nothing is hidden.

I was a little disappointed to find that the exhibition barely fills one room; there should have been more there. I have no doubt, however, that Swansea is brimming with history in various places and, if you are genuinely interested and willing to search for it, this exhibition will serve to enhance those other resources. The Museum also offers specific workshops surrounding the wartime experience in Swansea and more information on the Blitz – collected memories – can be found on the BBC website. The exhibition will remain at Swansea Museum until early May.