27/09/2026
If you’re visiting the pier, it is well worth taking a walk along the promenade to see John Conran’s sculpture “Olyniaeth”
On Monday evening this week, Dan and I went for a walk along the new promenade. It’s really lovely along there now, plenty of places to stop and sit, nicely lit up, and beautiful views out across Porth Penrhyn and beyond. It’s somewhere I’ll be revisiting again and again, as it’s just around the corner from where we live in Bangor, and I‘ve already got some great ideas for future photos.
One of the newest features of the promenade, is this stunning sculpture “Olyniaeth” by Joseph Conran. Here I will let the artist tell you more about it in his own words:
“The title of the sculpture is 'Olyniaeth' (succession) which refers to the natural process where communities grow and change over time.
The artwork takes the form of a germinating oak seed. The 'acorn' is an original Jefferys De Winton buoy, which was fabricated in the area in the 1870s, and which shepherded ships up and down the Menai Straight for many years.
The sapling is made of Corten weathering steel, with stainless steel leaves showing the street maps of New York and Melbourne, two of the furthest ports that Welsh Slate was shipped to from Porth Penrhyn
The oak is a reference to the shipbuilding tradition in the area, and the buoy and street maps are a testament to the reach and influence that this community had around the world.”
It was lovely to see it illuminated and I was lucky enough to capture Saturn behind it (although, with the compression social media puts on photos, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to make that out!)
I revisited the promenade on Saturday morning as part of my “Little Mornings” project, scouting out potential views, and I hope to be able to capture Olyniaeth with a fiery sunrise sky background in the future.
