Deireadh Fomhair
Deireadh Fómhair 

21 October - 2 December 2018

Solo Show


Official opening: Sunday 21st October 2018, 3 pm, at the Olivier Cornet Gallery, 3 Great Denmark Street, Dublin 1.

Guest speaker: Paddy Woodworth, author of 'Our Once and Future Planet: Restoring the World in the Climate Change Century'.

"We can all take concrete steps to live more carefully on this planet. In recent years, I switched from oils to watercolour in order to have less of an impact on the environment.
The switch has been both challenging and rewarding – challenging to master the idiosyncrasies of the medium but very rewarding in discovering new possibilities and avenues of enquiry for my practice.  
I have been developing a body of work which explores the effects of climate change and in particular, reflects on the significance of trees.
Trees are a link between the past, the present and the future. The majestic stature, the long lifespan and the familiarity give them a monument-like quality but they also have a special aura that is difficult to define. Research has shown that within minutes of being surrounded by trees, our blood pressure drops, our heart rate slows and stress levels begin to reduce.
My work is primarily painting but recently, I have expanded the notion of ‘works on paper’ to develop an installation/sculpture which will be installed in the Olivier Cornet Gallery in October 2018. 
The idea is to recreate a ‘forest experience’ in the gallery space, using rice paper. This is a traditional paper which originated in ancient China and has been used for centuries for calligraphy, artwork and architecture. It is as white as alabaster, known for its strength and smooth surface, very delicate when wet but said to last for a thousand years – an enchanting medium with which to work.
"Deireadh Fómhair" is the title for this body of work, the Irish name for the month of October but literally translating as ‘the end of Autumn’. We have always taken the cycle of the seasons for granted in Ireland but with climate change, things have become more uncertain. When this Autumn ends, can we be sure that Spring will follow Winter? 
The installation titled 'An Choill' is made up of 64 painted lengths of rice paper.  
I have also been working on a series of watercolour paintings on the various aspects of the forest – the solitude, the changing seasons and the peace that one feels on a woodland walk contrasting with the danger and the devastation of forest fires." Eoin Mac Lochlainn, September 2018

About the titles in the images below, for those of us who don't speak Irish:
'Siúlóid Sléibhe' means 'mountain walk'
'Cosán Coille' means 'woodland path'
'Dóite' means 'burnt'

Coverage:

"...he switched from using oil paint to watercolour, so that his working methods might have less environmental impact. It’s a small, personal gesture, but it’s a brave one too, for an artist well used to working in oil. The good news for him is that he’s proved to be extremely adept with watercolour."
From art critic Aidan Dunne's review in The Irish Times on 30 October 2018
Full text HERE (scroll down to second article).

"Eoin’s paintings translate trees and forests’ beauty and persistence. They also reflect on the politics of forestry in Ireland and fire events that are increasing due to climate change. In one work we can see a lone dying oak, a remnant of much great Oak forests perhaps?, in others we can see the heartbreak of forests burning and darkened scorched lands; longer drier periods are substantially increasing forest fire risk in Ireland too."
Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald (PhD by Practice in Visual Culture for her thesis 'The Ecological Turn: Living Well with Forests" to explain eco-social art practice, conferred at NCAD, Nov 2018), in her review of the show.

"While Mac Lochlainn’s ambitions go beyond the aesthetic, the quality and quiet beauty of his paintings bring their own pleasures, while reminding us of the significance of trees as givers of life on our increasingly poisoned planet."
From John P. O'Sullivan's review of the show, Sunday Times, Culture Magazine, 25th November 2018.


Another critically acclaimed show at the Olivier Cornet Gallery!

An image of the An Choill installation in the Italian press!

  • Painting of The Lone Tree, after Friedrich by Eoin Mac Lochlainn at Olivier Cornet Gallery
    • Share by: