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‘A thing to see: a place to be’
Artist’s
Statement
My background
in the West of Ireland, where my parents were farmers, formed the
basis for my land artwork. Growing up in that drumlin landscape,
hills were visible on every side. Stone walls, small quarries, limekilns,
spring wells, sprawling fences and open water drains flowing into
little streams were still common features of the landscape. Now,
when I am working directly with the land, moulding the earth, a
kind of independent life seems to take over as the new form emerges
– a form with its own power, its own definition of space:
the sculpture itself emerges to become a feature within the landscape.
I am delighted
to have the opportunity to create a sculpture in the bog-land; I
feel I have a lifetime’s preparation for the project. Childhood
memories of turf-cutting under Croagh Patrick come flooding back.
The slane-cut turf marks left their varied patterns, unique to the
cutter. The turf banks, cut to different levels, provided a variety
of platforms from where the world could be viewed, as it showed
itself in its many forms, patterns, colours and textures, where
the black, mirrored pools created the impression that I was alone
in the universe.
Some of these
features I hope to integrate into the sculpture for the Parklands,
where Lough Boora bog-land has its own deep and rich story to tell.
A culture of overlapping layers, from the treasures and tragedies
long buried, to the economic history of the peat land harvesting
over the last century. I look forward to the challenge.
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FOLLOW
THE PROGRESS OF SCULPTORS' WORK AT LOUGH BOORA
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