Sarah Hopkins’ work came to the attention of our gallery in 1987. Her parents brought in some of her college work to frame and we realised that we were looking at the work of a talented artist.

At the same time, the Calne Civic Society invited her to visit their town centre to record her impressions as part of a regeneration campaign. The box set of screenprints she produced was presented to HRH Prince of Wales.

After leaving college Hopkins returned to Swansea and set up her own printmaking studio. She produced a widely collected series of screenprints based on her home environment and became the youngest artist to exhibit in our gallery. She soon became well known in the area; conducting printmaking workshops at schools, colleges and at HM Prison Swansea.

Her exhibition at the Attic Gallery in September 2001 witnessed an important shift in the direction of her work. She created a series of images that detailed her daily journey from her rural home in Gower to the gritty urban centre of Swansea. This exhibition explored aerial imagery and the changing pattern of the land; her use of layered colour, bold shapes and embossing techniques also moved her work in a new direction.

She continues to focus on declining industry, decay and polluted environments; the blots on the landscape, high rise buildings and terraced houses, which dominate the South Wales landscape.