In May 2008, five temporary art events by artists Alastair MacLennan, Maura Hazelden, Simon Whitehead, Anna Lucas and Yvonne Buchheim, took place in public spaces in Cardigan exploring themes of ritual, community and place.

Holy Hiatus sought to examine the ways that artists can draw audiences into different, often unexpected experiences of place through ritual. The temporary, mobile and in some cases, understated nature of the works meant that the impact was often subtle, but the artworks nonetheless created a ripple of effect for audiences, leading witnesses to wonder what they had just seen and to what extent had they knowingly, or unknowingly, participated in it?

The book also offers a contextual framework for the project within a field of cultural theory that ranges from contemporary art to anthropology, sociology and religious studies.

Ruth Jones is an artist and curator based in West Wales. She has exhibited widely in the UK, and internationally in Ireland, Poland, USA, Spain and Quebec. Alastair MacLennan is based in Belfast and was a critical figure in the development of experimental performative practices. Maura Hazelden is a multi-disciplinary artist working from West Wales. Yvonne Buchheim was born in Weimar and lives in Bristol. Anna Lucas has published a book loosely re-telling the story of Native American Princess Pocahontas. Movement artist Simon Whitehead works from his base in rural West Wales.