NATIONAL HERITAGE WEEK 2020

National Heritage Week , 15-23 August 2020
   An Easter Lily and its Symbolism by Yanny Petters
Olivier Cornet Gallery,  Dublin (Ireland)

Yanny Petters, Calla Lily Blue, oil on gesso panel, 106 x 46 cm
For National Heritage Week 2020, the Olivier Cornet Gallery is excited to reveal a new work imbued with symbols of Irish heritage from gallery artist Yanny Petters. Petters is currently exhibiting in Drawn from Nature: Irish Botanical Art at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.

Petters, who was born in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow (1961), is a botanical artist who has been painting exquisitely detailed studies of wild plants from life for the past 20 years. Working primarily in oils and watercolours, Yanny also specialises in painting on glass (or ‘Verre Églomisé'). She is represented by the Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin.

In 2016, Petters completed a piece called ‘Easter Lily’ (80x28cm) using this method. She used this technique to reference the famous Irish stained-glass artist Harry Clarke (1889 – 1931). Petters exhibited this work as part of an exhibition entitled ‘Republic’ curated by Olivier Cornet and fellow gallerist artist Eoin Mac Lochlainn. The show was a meditation on the aspirations of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and a commemoration of all those who died in the Easter Rising of 1916. 

Petters explained, “I wanted to refer to Harry Clarke’s studios in 33 North Frederick Street, just around the corner from The Olivier Cornet Gallery. The Clarke Studios were damaged during the Easter Rising"⁽¹⁾. Yanny has been inspired by Harry Clarke since she became aware of his illustrations as a child. 

Nearly 5 years later, the artist is revisiting the inspiration for this work, taking the opportunity to research deeper into the symbolism within it and its connection to Irish heritage. This new work titled ‘Calla Lily Blue’ features oil on gesso panel (106 x 46 cm) and addresses the iconography of the lily. 

In the text below, you can read Petters' extended artist statement where she explores the connection between the calla lily and the visual identity associated with the Easter Rising, most notably as a symbol of remembrance for Irish republican combatants who died during or were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising. She has also drawn in threads of reference from art history reflecting her personal curiosity and experience growing up in a period when the 'Troubles' were ever present. 

Through this project we explore our understanding of our local history and deepen our connection with the aesthetics of the Easter Rising and Ireland's artistic output during the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

This work and the artist’s research will be exhibited in the Olivier Cornet Gallery for the period of National Heritage week from 15th – 23rd of August, where members of the public can view the piece by appointment. Please note that face covering and social distancing is compulsory in the gallery. 

This project will coincide with ‘Resurfacing’, a group show by the AGA group and the represented artists of the Olivier Cornet Gallery. Following the social restrictions previously imposed by the state, the country is now reopening, allowing many of us to go back to work or visit our friends and family again. Taking inspiration from these circumstances, we will ‘resurface’ pre-exhibited work, allowing us to give them a new lease of life, revisit them and think about our experience resurfacing. All works in this exhibition including this one are available for purchase.

To book an appointment email info@oliviercornetgallery.com or call 087 288 7261.


An Easter Lily and its Symbolism by Artist Yanny Petters
 
"During the lockdown of the last few months I was drawn to musing upon artworks I had made in previous years and revisiting their inspiration.

This painting of a calla lily is inspired by the commemoration year of the Easter Rising and a painting I did for an exhibition entitled ‘Republic’ at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in 2016. I did further research into its symbolism drawing together a number of strands of thought and personal curiosity.

The Easter Lily was very much in my consciousness throughout my youth as there was a huge painting of one on a rock near my home. It was refreshed in bright green, white and gold every few years, but eventually faded away in the 1990s.

As a child I was aware of the use of flower symbols to denote different events in the community, such as the wearing of the poppy for Remembrance Day, or the Easter Lily at Easter to commemorate Irish republican combatants who died or were executed during the 1916 Rising.

The meaning was not explained to me as a child, but later in life when I looked into the symbolism of flowers as part of my interests in botanical art, I was intrigued with the variety of meanings any plant might represent.

The Calla Lily/Easter Lily is associated with the Virgin Mary, also with Venus, the goddess of beauty, and generally it is a symbol for purity, faith and the resurrection. The Easter Lily is said to have sprung up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. 

Its symbolism of purity is accentuated by the plant growing in muddy places, a pure white flower emerging from bare earth.

In 1926 the Cumann Na mBan introduced the Easter Lily as symbol of remembrance for those who died during or were executed after the Easter Rising. 

After the schism in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which led to the founding of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA), at the end of the 1960's the Easter Lily was used by both organisations, but with a slightly different denotation.

The Official Irish Republican Army (oIRA) preserved the original meaning and attached the Easter Lily with a self-adhesive backing. Hence, they got the nickname: Stickies.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army on the other hand used the traditional pin and expanded the meaning of the flower. They became known as Pinheads and used the Easter Lily to commemorate all those who died in the struggle for an independent Ireland.

In time the Easter Lily became more and more associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA) and the practice of wearing a lily fell into disuse in the 1970's. 

When I first painted the Calla Lily/Easter Lily for the exhibition in 2016, ‘Republic’ at the Olivier Cornet Gallery, I asked a friend if she had a plant I could work from. True to the symbolism of the pure white flower growing from the bare earth, I was able to dig up a plant from the muddy edge of her pond. It is now growing nicely in my own garden.

In 'Calla Lily Blue' the statuesque plant is surrounded by a deep blue background to emphasise the drama of the pure whiteness of the flower heads and luscious greens of the leaves. Blue is the colour most associated with the Virgin Mary, the colour representing the heavens. Significantly blue pigment was very costly to produce throughout history. Artists through the centuries have therefore used blue to represent glory, perfection, purity, beauty and wealth. Stained glass artist Harry Clarke (1889-1931) is well known for his use of beautiful blues. 

The design of my painting reflects The Arts and Crafts Movement in Ireland of the 1880s to the 1950s. I was always fascinated with this period, but also the Celtic revival and Celtic motifs and how they were incorporated into modern design. I have been inspired by the work of Harry Clarke, Mainie Jellett, William Morris and the Art Nouveau period. Many of the Arts and Crafts enterprises established in post-Famine (1870s) Ireland were motivated by philanthropy, and we proved a fertile ground for the decorative arts. 

During my training as a sign writer I often used these elements in floral design to create decorative work. Within 'Calla Lily Blue' a number of these threads are drawn together: my love of plants, my interest in the meaning and symbolism in plants and my inspiration from decorative design. The painting has an intended tension complimented by the subtle forms in the blue background which I hope will draw the viewer to interpret the work with a personal resonance.

The juxtaposition of floral symbolism in our history can be a poignant reminder of the fragility of peace.

Yanny Petter, 2 July 2020


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