Jack Latham – Parliament of Owls
01 October - 28 February 2021
*** Physical Exhibition Currently Closed during Welsh Lockdown ***
*** Virtual Exhibition Now Available ***
Parliament of Owls ©Jack Latham
The exhibition Parliament of Owls, by Jack Latham (scroll down for exhibition details) was due to open just before the UK wide lockdown in March. It seems such a long time ago now but we are thrilled to be able to now present the exhibition, although this will be over reduced opening days and times.
Our wonderful host building, Theatr Colwyn has been closed since March but has just started to show cinema films again! We are pleased to be able to now open Oriel Colwyn around the varying days it is operating.
We’ve put changes in place so that you can enjoy a safe visit. You can read about the changes we’ve made below, as well as some guidance we’d like you to follow when visiting.
Please remember, stay at home if you’re feeling unwell, or have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus, we will not be allowed to let you in if you have any Covid-19 symptoms.
To help everyone keep a safe distance, we are asking all visitors to book free tickets in advance for an allocated 30 minute time slot. This will help us manage the number of people visiting. Currently we are limiting entry to 6 people per timeslot.
The days and times of the gallery opening will be posted weekly in advance on social media and can be seen via the button below, where 30 minute viewing slots will be made available for booking.
All timed viewing slots are FREE of charge.
Gallery presently closed in lockdown restrictions
Please note, we have made a few changes to ensure your safety when visiting:
- Book in advance as we have reduced the gallery capacity to provide a safe environment for exhibition viewing.
- You will be able to book up to a maximum of 6 tickets, for yourself and those in your household. For anyone unable to book online we recommend calling 07425 157845 and we will organise your tickets.
- Arrive at your selected visiting time. Please only arrive just before your allocated time slot. If you have not arrived by 10 minutes into your timeslot we might give your slot away to walk-in bookings.
- Following new guidance from Welsh Government face coverings must be worn as you enter the building and must remain in place for the duration of your visit, unless exempt in line with Government guidelines.
- At reception we will welcome you and ask for your tickets. You can print your tickets at home in advance, present them on your mobile phone or give your name.
- On arrival you will be required to sanitise your hands, there will be hand sanitising points at the entrance and throughout the building for your use. We ask that everyone keep a 2m social distance from others.
- We will be asking for contact details of all visitors. We will only share your details with NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect if asked in the event of a visitor or member of the team testing positive for coronavirus.
- There is a one-way system at the gallery entry and exit points. Please use the main stairs to enter the gallery and exit via the lift. (This can be adapted to suit any access needs)
- Follow all social distancing markers and instructions from staff.
- Once within the gallery space you will be free to explore the exhibition in a socially distanced way. There is safe distancing and other guidance signage on-site and our staff will help to ensure a welcoming and safe experience for everyone.
We want you to be as safe as possible during your visit, if you have any questions or concerns please ask a member of staff.
Parliament of Owls - Jack Latham
Nestled within the redwood forests of Monte Rio, northern California, sits Bohemian Grove, a 2,700-acre retreat owned by the exclusive gentlemen’s San Francisco Bohemian Club, founded in 1872.
Every summer, the retreat is frequented by the political and business elite of the US. Shrouded in secrecy, the activities at the grove have become the subject of countless conspiracy theories and rumours.
In Jack Latham’s Parliament of Owls, he investigates the secrecy of the club and the wider political effects this has caused.
What happens when the country’s top lawmakers, politicians, artists, lawyers, and businessmen meet behind closed doors? What secrets are being swapped, plans being made? For years these questions have been at the root of protest groups and journalists hoping to expose the truth.
Latham takes the viewer on a journey of discovery, showcasing the town surrounding Bohemian Grove (the club’s rural outpost) and its people.
Main Stage at Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre, San Francisco ©Jack Latham
His photographs also depict the rise of Alex Jones—conspiracy theorist and founder of InfoWars—and how his break-in at the Grove in 2000 led him to become a household name with the antiestablishment crowd.
In an attempt to ‘expose the new world order’, Jones released alarmist footage of the club’s “Cremation of Care”, a theatrical ceremony in which an effigy of the members’ 'worldly cares' is burnt.
Phantom Patriot, Nevada, 2018 @Jack Latham.
Phantom Patriot was the name taken by Richard McCaslin of Carson City, Nevada, who, on January 19, 2002, attempted an attack on the Bohemian Grove after viewing Alex Jones’ documentary. He was imprisoned in California for 8 years. He now resides in Nevada and has a super hero base in his backyard which he refers to as the ‘Protectorate Outpost’
Beyond inspiring a bizarre attack on Bohemian Grove by a masked vigilante calling himself the Phantom Patriot in 2002, the release of the video footage, set within an alarmist context, was instrumental in increasing Jones’ profile as a far-right activist and subsequently spring-boarded infowars to become an influential outlet of fake news in recent US politics.
In 'Parliament of Owls', Jack Latham investigates the effects that a vacuum of information can cause.
The series gives only glimpses into Bohemian Grove, itself fuelling its mystery. Shot entirely in black and white, the series offers a view into the club’s winding path, or a photograph taken from the perspective of somebody hiding in the trees. The images are mysterious; they offer no answers of their own, and are therefore a vacuum of context themselves.
Monte Rio Cinema ©Jack Latham
Jack Latham (born in Cardiff, 1989) is a Welsh photographer based in the United Kingdom. His work primarily focuses on aspects of storytelling throughout society. Past works including A Pink Flamingo (2015) and Sugar Paper Theories (2016) have featured in a number of solo shows which including, Reykjavik Museum of Photography, TJ Boulting Gallery and the Royal Photographic Society. Latham’s projects have also gone on to win multiple awards including the Bar-Tur Photobook award (2015), Image Vevey - Heidi.News Prize (2019).
Parliament of Owls was winner of the BJP International Photography Award in 2019.
Cymraeg
Roedd disgwyl i arddangosfa 'Parliament of Owls' gan Jack Latham i agor yn union cyn y cyfnod clo ar draws y DU ym mis Mawrth. Mae hynny'n teimlo fel cryn amser yn ôl erbyn hyn ond rydym yn hynod o falch o allu cyflwyno'r arddangosfa nawr a hynny dros ddyddiau ac oriau agor sydd wedi eu lleihau.
Mae ein hadeilad gwych, Theatr Colwyn, wedi dechrau dangos ffilmiau sinema eto ac fe fyddwn yn agor Oriel Colwyn o amgylch y dyddiau agor amrywiol.
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Cofiwch, arhoswch adref os rydych yn teimlo’n anhwylus neu wedi bod mewn cysylltiad gyda rhywun sydd â'r coronafeirws. Ni fyddwn yn gallu caniatáu mynediad os oes gennych unrhyw rai o symptomau Covid-19.
I helpu pawb i gadw pellter diogel rydym yn gofyn i'r holl ymwelwyr i archebu tocynnau am ddim ymlaen llaw ar gyfer slot amser dynodedig. Bydd hyn yn ein helpu ni i reoli’r nifer o bobl sy’n ymweld. Ar hyn o bryd rydym yn cyfyngu mynediad i 6 unigolyn i bob slot amser.
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Nodwch os gwelwch yn dda, rydym wedi gwneud rhai newidiadau i sicrhau eich diogelwch wrth ymweld:
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Parliament of Owls - Jack Latham
Yn swatio yng nghoedwigoedd cochwydd Monte Rio, gogledd California, eistedda Bohemian Grove, encil 2,700 erw sy’n eiddo i’r clwb dynion egsgliwsif San Francisco Bohemian Club, a sefydlwyd ym 1872.
Bob haf, mae elit gwleidyddol a busnes yr UDA yn mynychu’r encil. Dan len o ddirgelwch, mae gweithgareddau’r gelli wedi dod yn destun damcaniaethau cynllwyn a sïon diri.
Yn Parliament of Owls, mae Jack Latham yn ymchwilio i gyfrinachedd y clwb a’r effeithiau gwleidyddol ehangach a achoswyd gan hyn.
Beth sy’n digwydd pan fod prif lunwyr deddfau, gwleidyddion, artistiaid, cyfreithwyr a dynion busnes yn cwrdd tu ôl i ddrysau caeedig? Pa gyfrinachau sy’n cael eu cyfnewid, pa gynlluniau sy’n cael eu creu? Ers blynyddoedd, dyma’r cwestiynau sydd wedi bod wrth wraidd y grwpiau protest a’r gwleidyddion sy’n gobeithio datgelu’r gwir.
Mae Latham yn mynd â’r gwyliwr ar daith o ddarganfyddiad, gan dynnu sylw at y dref sy’n amgylchynu Bohemian Grove (cadarnle gwledig y clwb) a’i phobl.
Y Prif Lwyfan yn Theatr Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell, San Francisco ©Jack Latham
Mae ei ffotograffau hefyd yn darlunio esgyniad Alex Jones – damcaniaethwr cynllwynion a sylfaenydd InfoWars – a sut y daeth yn enw cyfarwydd ymhlith y criw gwrthsefydliadol ar ôl torri i mewn i’r Grove yn 2000.
Mewn ymgais i ‘ddadorchuddio’r drefn fyd-eang newydd’, rhyddhaodd Jones ddelweddau a berodd ddychryn o "Cremation of Care” y clwb, Seremoni theatraidd lle mae corffddelw o ‘ofalon bydol’ yr aelodau’n cael ei losgi.
Phantom Patriot, Nevada, 2018 @Jack Latham.
Phantom Patriot oedd yr enw a gymerwyd gan Richard McCaslin o Carson City, Nevada, pan geisiodd ymosod ar Bohemian Grove ar 19 Ionawr, 2020, ar ôl gwylio rhaglen ddogfen Alex Jones. Cafodd ei garcharu am 8 mlynedd yng Nghaliffornia. Mae bellach yn byw yn Nevada ac mae ganddo ganolfan uwch arwr yn ei ardd gefn y mae’n cyfeirio ato fel y ‘Protectorate Outpost’
Y tu hwnt i ysbrydoli ymosodiad bisâr ar Bohemian Grove gan warchodwr dan fwgwd yn galw ei hin yn Phantom Patriot yn 2002, roedd rhyddhau’r lluniau fideo, a osodwyd o fewn cyd-destun o ddychryn, yn ganolog i gynyddu proffil Jones fel gweithredwr asgell dde eithafol a roddodd lwyfan wedi hynny i Infowars fod yn ffynhonnell newyddion ffug a fu’n ddylanwadol yng ngwleidyddiaeth ddiweddar yr UDA.
Yn ‘Parliament of Owls’, mae Jack Latham yn ymchwilio i’r effeithiau y gall gwagle gwybodaeth ei achosi.
Dim ond cipolwg mae’r gyfres yn ei rhoi i mewn i Bohemian Grove, sydd ei hun yn tanio'r dirgelwch. Wedi’i saethu’n llwyr mewn du a gwyn, mae’r gyfres yn cynnig golygfa o lwybr troellog y clwb, neu ffotograff a gymerwyd o bersbectif rhywun yn cuddio yn y coed. Mae’r delweddau’n ddirgel; nid ydynt yn cynnig atebion o ran eu hunain, ac felly'n wagle o gyd destun o ran eu hunain.
Monte Rio Cinema ©Jack Latham
Mae Jack Latham (a anwyd yng Nghaerdydd, 1989) yn ffotograffydd Cymreig wedi’i leoli yn y DU. Mae ei weithiau’n canolbwyntio’n bennaf at agweddau o adrodd hanesion ledled cymdeithas. Mae gweithiau blaenorol, gan gynnwys A Pink Flamingo (2015) a Sugar Paper Theories (2016) wedi ymddangos mewn nifer o sioeau unigol gan gynnwys Amgueddfa Ffotograffiaeth Reykjavik, Oriel TJ Boulting a'r Gymdeithas Ffotograffig Frenhinol. Mae prosiectau Latham hefyd wedi mynd yn eu blaenau i ennill gwobrau lluosog gan gynnwys gwobr Bar-Tur Photobook (2015), Gwobr Image Vevey - Heidi.News (2019).
Parliament of Owls oedd enillydd Gwobr Ffotograffiaeth Ryngwladol BJP yn 2019.