Rwy’n dlwad, rwy’n frwnt, rwy’n euog

Sculpture with wood, glass, paint, parquet and broken crockery.

“Inspired by Morfydd Owen’s ‘The Sinner’s Prayer, this piece reveals to us the layers of meaning and emotion of being deeply broken yet holding onto a shard of hope.”
Lois Adams, Our Morfydd Exhibition Curator.

Created for the ‘Our Morfydd Open Call Exhibition’ in Oct 2025, this piece is inspired by Gweddi Y Pechadur, a composition by the musician Morfydd Owen.

It takes its name from one of the lines in the piece, which translates to “I’m poor, I’m dirty, I’m guilty” and deals with the musician’s troubled and seemingly abusive marriage, which was characterised by what would now be called ‘coercive control’, though no such term existed at the time.

When I read about Morfydd’s life and work, I felt a sense of kinship and connection across the guld of decades, culture and gender. The title of this piece, “Rwy’n dlwad, rwy’n frwnt, rwy’n euog”, is taken from the lyrics to Gweddi Y Pechadur. It translates as ‘I’m poor, I’m filthy, I am guilty.’ These words mirror the way I have often felt about myself, feelings that I kept buried, unitl they erupted during a bout of mental illness.

In many ways, this sculpture is actually a self-portrait, where I channel my own hidden feelings of inadequacy, through the story and image of Morfydd.