Original concept for Sculpture in Context 2020:

Miriam McConnon’s outdoor installation ‘Lost Lace’ originally comprised approximately 1777 white roses made from individual white handkerchiefs. The handkerchief roses formed a delicate pattern of traditional Lace. The installation marked the personal and global loss of life due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Each single handkerchief rose in this installation referenced the small cloths or ‘clooties’ that were hung traditionally on trees near the site of holy wells in Pagan Ireland. The handkerchief was believed to drive illness away by absorbing it.

The artist chose to place them in a floral lace pattern to echo the natural environment of the Botanical Gardens and also hinted at the concept of the man-made object imitating nature in an attempt to find resolve.

The artwork was a homage to the lives lost due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The single rose is a symbol of devotion. Here this devotion becomes collective, signifying the national and global loss. This installation urged the public to not lose sight of the individual life, the single rose. In this installation Mc Connon emphasised the solitary path of individual grief in unison with the national and collective loss. 

Due to the pandemic, the annual Sculpture in Context at The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Dublin was cancelled in 2020 but artists were invited to present their work online. Olivier Cornet Gallery artist Miriam McConnon installed the artworks temporarily in Paphos where she resides and photographs were posted online in addition to a short film which can be seen here.

Iveagh Gardens, October 2022: