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Tuesday 29 March 2016

Lionheart and Lightsout

Lionheart and Lightsout by Bedwr Williams

Located near the soon-to-be-demolished Oceana complex building on The Kingsway is this interesting public artwork by Bedwr Williams. Comprised of four brass high-heeled footprints set in four connecting pavement slabs, the piece celebrates an incident which occurred outside the nightclub in 2009.

Cage-fighters Daniel Lerwell a.k.a. ‘Lionheart' and James Lilley a.k.a. 'Lightsout’ were on a night out in Swansea's city centre when they were set upon by two drunks who took exception to the atheletes' drag outfits. The drunks had already caused a scene by setting upon other members of the public and, fired up by this previous fracas, they then attacked the two, unbeknown to them, cage-fighters. The fight lasted just seconds and was captured on CCTV. The video, showing the two violent drunk's comeuppance at the hands of Lionheart and Lightsout, went viral when it was released on social media and led to the two cage fighters being celebrated across the internet, tabloids and TV.

Bedwr Williams' outdoor art installation, memorialises the events of that night and literally sets in concrete the fight against harassment and persecution that was symbolised in the digital CCTV footage of the fight.