SPACES AND PLACES: Suburban Art Trail
Coordinated with Tallaght Community Arts
The concept of space fascinates me on several levels: As a painter using linear perspective I attempt to create the illusion of three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface and for many years the subject of my art has been the space of the suburban environment where I grew up and still live. More recently there is the Imagined Space of my new works and lastly there is the space in which my completed works are displayed. Generally the gallery space is a neutral white box, which isolates the work from the distraction of other surroundings. However when an exhibition concludes sold work goes into peoples homes or offices and become part of peoples’ everyday lives. Art in public spaces and in private houses can reach a wider audience that would ever visit a gallery so the work continues to receive new viewers all the time. What intrigued me about this project coordinated withTallaght Community Arts was that audiences could view my art in two very different ways in different spaces at the same time. The Suburban Art Trail through Jobstown culminating at RUA RED was not only a physical journey but also chronological journey through my work practice with the earlier work exhibited in Jobstown informing the latest body of paintings: Imagined Spaces exhibited at RUA RED.
Six public venues agreed to host my work: An Cosán, The Mary Mercer Health Centre, St Thomas’ Senior National School, St Thomas’ Church, Youth Horizons and Mount Seskin Community School. The works were on display and open to the public for one month. In addition two students from An Cosan and two students from Mount Seskin Community School exhibited my work in their homes for the same period and these works were viewed by family and friends. A book documenting this Suburban Art Trail will be published in September 2011. View images from the Art Trail here!
