Artist Mary Lloyd Jones painted this banner for the YES for Wales campaign in the lead up to the 1997 referendum on devolution, held on 18th September.
Voters had to decide whether or not they wanted an assembly for Wales with devolved powers. 50.1% of the electorate voted. It was a close race. 552,698 were against and 559,419 in favour, a majority of 6,721. This led to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales.
Three political parties supported the YES campaign: Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. Its leader, Ron Davies, was the Secretary of State for Wales at the time. Grassroots campaigning was central to the YES cause. There were groups such as 'Pensioners say YES', 'Actors say YES' and 'Ystradgynlais says YES'. Mary Lloyd Jones made this banner for the 'Artists say YES' group.
I never thought, as I painted the banner on the floor of my studio in Aberbanc that it would become an historical object!
Mary Lloyd Jones, 30 October 2008