16
Visual Artists' News Sheet | Special Issue: March – April 2020
Four Decades of Irish Sculpture
Sam Keogh, Monument for Subjects to Come, 2011, wood, expanding polyurethane foam, polystyrene, acrylic medium powdered mica, glitter, earth, laminated wrapping paper, sellotape, rope, sponge & duct tape, 322 × 153 × 480 cm; courtesy of the artist and Kerlin Gallery
Isabel Nolan, The Provisory Rug adapted and documented for past, present and future, 2012, set of 6 black and white photographs, AP18 × 27 cm each; courtesy of the artist and Kerlin Gallery
Gracelands: Circling the Square, 2012, EVA International; courtesy of Vaari Claffey
about public art. How the image of a young track-suited girl from Ballymun riding bareback astride a mount originally created for a viscount could become the focus of such national debate exposed the underpinning of this regeneration process as primarily an ideological one, and one that was operating primarily through the space of representation. In the contested history of public monuments in Ireland, we appear to be challenged when that representational space is occupied by anything other than rich rockstars, martyred revolutionaries, or (if you happen to be female) virtuous Mother Irelands or busty fish sellers. Perhaps in an age of historical revisionism – where the only individual with enough courage to tackle the imbecilic and dangerous advances of the western hemisphere’s most vitriolic rulers is the unlikely character of a seventeen year old schoolgirl from Sweden – its placement will be reconsidered and Misneach may yet find its rightful place in the heart of Ballymun. At least I hope so. Megs Morley Turning Point (2010) Isabel Nolan
Ruth E. Lyons, The Forgotten Works, 2012, timber, screw, bitumen, lights, installation view at Project Arts Centre; photograph by Denis Mortell, courtesy of the artist
IN THE SUMMER of 2008, I, along with Patrick Murphy and Vincent Honoré, was kindly invited by Clíodhna Shaffrey and Ruairí Ó Cuiv, to nominate three artists for consideration for a major commission they were managing for the yet to be built Terminal 2, at Dublin Airport. This was a challenging curatorial proposition as, given the context and scope of the commission, the artists’ brief was particularly demanding. One of the three artists I proposed was Isabel Nolan for her beautiful, deceptively delicate, sculptural work, with its recognisable and defiant ‘hand-madedness’. Isabel’s deftness with materials and with shape, and the absolute clarity of the presentation of each finished piece, struck me as being acutely assured for such a young artist. Also, the genial, ludic element to her practice beguiled me. What might she – with her incomparable sense of colour, and her ability to manipulate form and space – make, if she were to work on a large-scale project? Against significant international competition, Isabel was unanimously awarded the commission. Encountering Turning Point now causes a spin of excitement in me. That a work of art can have such a somatic effect on me is warmly received. The seemingly gravity-defying work, which Isabel spent two years making, is fluid and graceful, static yet imbued with a sense of movement which tricks the eye. Turning Point appears to twirl and rotate as you move up the escalator or simply walk past it. And as you see it, or indeed watch it, it changes, and re-frames what you see through it. It’s mesmerising, and as I travel less and less, I miss these thrilling encounters.
It takes great courage to make a piece of art for a public place, especially for one of such national importance. However, Isabel Nolan’s Turning Point has exceeded expectations and has surely become a beloved contemporary national icon. Aisling Prior Monument for Subjects to Come (2011) Sam Keogh AMONGST THE ARRAY of works exhibited at O’Connell Street, Limerick, as part of EVA International 2012, Sam Keogh’s Monument for Subjects to Come (2011) stopped me in my tracks. This ominous, overpowering monolith looms over the spectator, bearing down on them with its imposing heft, shimmering surface, and the sheer mystery of its meaning. It is simultaneously ancient and alien, embedded with powdered mica and glitter and plant life, wrapped in rope and folded fabric, and tethered to a makeshift wooden ‘palanquin’, a platform ready to be carried aloft through some unknown religious procession. Keogh’s sculpture is uncannily attuned to the biennial’s title and theme of ‘After the Future’, curated by Annie Fletcher and named after Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s book. Monument for Subjects to Come amalgamates earth and soil with polyurethane foam and sellotape, and, in the process, infers the rituals and reliquaries of a future civilization, where geology and industry, natural elements and man-made waste, are so deeply enmeshed that one can no longer distinguish between the two. That this speculative distant society feels both so removed from our era and yet strangely familiar is an unsettling indication of how far along this trajectory we’ve already travelled. Chris Clarke
Gracelands: Circling the Square (2012) EVA International 2012 GRACELANDS WAS AN outdoor happening devised and curated by Vaari Claffey, which presented Irish and international artists, working across a range of disciplines. The annual event (which ran from 2008 to 2011) usually took place over the course of one day and night on the grounds of the Mimetic House – the home of artists Grace Weir and Joe Walker, in Dromahair, County Leitrim. On 2 August 2012, ‘Gracelands: Circling the Square’ was presented at the Milk Market in Limerick, as part of EVA International 2012. The site-specific programme comprised a series of performance installations, sculptural installations and a screening programme. Over the course of the evening, the commercial site was transformed
