The Various Folklore Of the Spectral Dog

This artwork was created for the pART of Pontypridd art trail, an online art trail which celebrates the local area of Pontypridd, as part of the Creative and Therapeutic Arts graduate exhibition, 2020.

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Explanatory Text

For this exhibition, I was inspired by my favourite spot in Clwb y Bont, an old stone alcove which once housed a fireplace, just next to the bar. This drove me to find a link between this spot and my interest in folklore, looking into the creature that had ties to pubs and the fire that would have once burned there. This was only further fuelled by Clwb y Bont’s reputation for supporting folk music, local artists and Celtic culture. 

 

There is so much folklore within this world, plenty of which can simply be explained away using logic and reason. However, the Spectral Dog is one creature that defies these rules due to numerous sightings and encounters, even to this day. Accounts date as far back as the 11th century and spread across many countries, but none as prevalent as in Britain. The various folklore of these Spectral Dogs have been collated and depicted for this exhibition in the form of a shrine installation and illustrated zine, which includes a guide for how to make your very own folklore zine.