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The Animal Wall in Charcoal
This especially commissioned piece of art was created for us by local artist, Nathan Wyburn and depicts four members of Cardiff’s much loved Animal Wall in a reimagined position next to the Castle’s Victorian Clock Tower.
Nathan said, “I loved the idea of highlighting the unique animal wall on our iconic Cardiff Castle. To do this I made them larger than life, as if they’re towering over and protecting the landmark building. It was so much fun to create, and I even used Welsh coal to draw the original artwork. This was digitally enhanced and edited to fit the products, creating the desired effect for the merchandise.”
You can watch the video below to see Nathan at work drawing the picture in the Castle’s Guest Tower…
WHY IS THE DRAWING IN WELSH COAL?
The Bute family, who owned Cardiff Castle for nearly 200 years, amassed a vast fortune on the back of the Welsh coal trade. The 2nd Marquess of Bute (b.1793 – d.1848) developed Cardiff’s docks to export mineral wealth from his South Wales estates, turning a sleepy backwater into one of the greatest coal exporting ports in the world and, ultimately, the capital city of Wales.
It was the 3rd Marquess (b.1847 – d.1900) and his heirs who spent lavish sums from this fortune on transforming the House, adding new towers, and rebuilding the impressive Roman walls, giving the Castle its distinctive appearance today.
ABOUT NATHAN
This project is a little different to Nathan’s usual work, which is usually focused more on Pop Culture portraits.
Utilising everyday materials and items, Nathan expertly crafts detailed portraits of well-known figures, using things that relate to them. Anything from Marmite, coffee, baked beans and newspapers. He has personally presented work to Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones, Mariah Carey, Gareth Bale, Tom Holland, Debbie Harry, and The Royal Family including His Majesty the King.
Nathan has worked with household brand names around the world and often appears on television with his work, most notably reaching the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, and also representing Wales on SKY Arts Landmark programme, where he created a moving tribute to the Aberfan colliery disaster.
If you’d like to see more of Nathan’s work, you can follow him on @NathanWyburnArt on social media…
THE CASTLE GIFT SHOP
A selection of merchandise featuring the Animal Wall in charcoal are available to purchase now from the Castle's Gift Shop. The Gift Shop is located within the Castle's Visitor Centre, in the free entry section of the Castle grounds, and is open during the Castle's visiting hours.
