PENARTH artist Alex Rich is currently taking part in Cardiff Contemporary 2014, the city’s largest ever visual arts festival.

Alex’s work in the festival celebrates curious landmarks of the capitol and Cardiff Harbour Authority permitted him to use the distinctive pink hut at the entrance to Cardiff Bay as an artist’s studio for the duration of the festival.

It’s all part of his commission for Cardiff Contemporary Reflections Towards a Well-tempered Environment, where Alex has taken aspects of Cardiff’s history as one of the world’s busiest shipping ports, translating them into installations throughout the city.

Further along the barrage, as part of the same project, sits a modest plywood bird hide, inviting members of the public to step inside, shelter from the elements and reflect on the view. While in the city centre, a work entitled Flour and Water, a sandstone-coloured shipping container positioned outside the Old Library opposite the Hayes Island contains a backlit image of Alex holding a biscuit; not just any biscuit, but a Ship’s Biscuit – another piece of the city’s maritime history created by the city’s once famous Spillers bakery.

As Alex’s commission continues, he has teamed up with former Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduate Toks Dada to organise a public music performance at the pink hut taking place on Saturday, November 8, along with a talk on how to bake your own Ship’s Biscuit at Cardiff Contemporary Festival’s main centre, The ‘Stute, Wood Street, Cardiff.

For further information visit www.cardiffcontemporary.co.uk or call the festival office on 02920 878706. Cardiff Contemporary Festival runs until November 9 at various sites across the city.