‘Migracijos, Portrait’, Archival inkjet print, edition of 3

‘Migracijos, Still Life’, Acrylic print, edition of 3

Artist statement

Ieva Baltaduonyte is an emerging multidisciplinary artist and graduate of the Photography BA programme at the Dublin Institute of Technology. Informed by her own personal experience of migration, her work engages with topics and issues relating to displacement.

Transnational migration is perhaps the most highly contested issue across Europe. Over the last twenty-years Ireland has experienced significant inward migration. For new arrivals spatial and temporal displacement is potentially traumatic, resulting in shifting identities where home can no longer be understood as a fixed knowable entity. Ieva is preoccupied with revealing personal and collective narratives where memory, history and language encourage a deeper engagement with interculturalism.  

By using photography and video for both personal expression and to foster a critical dialogue with contemporary society, she invites the viewer to participate in societal debates by foregrounding human experiences, and exposing what is otherwise obscured or ignored. Her carefully constructed projects combine politics and aesthetics inviting a dialogical relationship with the viewer. 

Project statement

Migracijos explores aspects of migratory culture and questions how displacement affects and transforms the lives of migrants. What is lost and what is gained in the process of transition between leaving home and settling the host country? These questions are addressed through a dialogue with Lithuanian women representing two generations who came to live in Ireland during the 'Celtic Tiger' years. The resulting 'conversations' reveal intimate intercultural complexities concerning notions of home, language and history. Viewers are invited to reconsider commonly held negative attitudes towards migration and interculturalism and engage with the personal narratives evoking the in-between place where neither home nor language are no longer defined as fixed entities.

‘Unknown Monument’, Graphite and ink on plasterboard

‘Monument I – III’, Etching with Aquatint and Spitbite, ed of 10

Born in Dublin in 1990 where he now lives and works Andrew Brown is a contemporary artist working primarily through the medium of drawing and print-making. In 2012 he graduated from the Fine Print department in the National College of Art and Design with a joint degree in Fine Art and History of Art. He was nominated by the Fine Print Department for the 2011 NCAD Staff Prize and in 2012 was awarded 1st Prize in the Graphic Studio Dublin Graduate Awards. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally in galleries such as the RHA in Dublin, Galway Arts Centre and the CUBE Gallery in Manchester. His work also is features in the collection of the Office of Public Works.

Artist Statement

Throughout art history the artist has always had a romantic obsession with mysterious, enigmatic ruins in the landscape. My practice continues this tradition yet it deals with contemporary, ruinous structures such as unfinished housing estates, apartment complexes and office blocks. They can be seen as intrinsically contradictory sites of ruination; instead of falling into dereliction they have risen into it. In a complete role reversal these ruins will not linger in the landscape but will be quickly demolished or in some cases completed into smooth, refined structures with their ruinous past forgotten.

I view these sites as unique, distinctive sites of ruination that distort and contradict previous definitions of ‘the ruin’ and how it relates to time and history. Working primarily through the medium of drawing and printmaking my work questions theories of nostalgia, memory and disputes the credibility of history by engaging with these unique spaces of abandonment. 

‘Tribute To A Sound’, Video Installation, duration 7 minutes

‘All is Number’, Video Installation, duration 8:15 Minutes

Biography

Simone Corr is a graduating student at I.A.D.T. DunLaoghaire, participating in the 4 year degree programme in Visual Arts Practice, interests and emphasis are, but not limited to, 4D and mixed media. Having spent the previous 10 years as a technical support administrator for a number of multinationals, Simone has returned to a creative space. While enjoying drawing and painting her interests are in sound, installation, and immersive technologies. Previous qualifications include a City and Guilds Diploma in Design for Print and along route, completed the JEB to teach ICT skills.

About Simone’s work

‘Tribute To A Sound’ follows on from previous related themes of communication and early forms of broadcasting. The piece, recorded at various locations around Ireland, incorporates the characteristics of an obituray and eulogy, to commemorate the January 2011 decommissioning of the foghorn from our coastline. The work, which is a collection of audio and film footage, is derived from various locations and stories from collective memory. Expressions of grief, relief, sorrow, personal or public interest is given form through this memoir.

'All is Number' pays homage to one of Irelands greatest mathematicians, William Rowan Hamilton and the freedom of ides.

The eventual application of number in all its various forms has hugh practical outcomes. Dublin has been declared the City of Science 2012.

The Dublin City of Science 2012 Festival is a year long celebration of science with over 160 events that will showcase the best of Irish culture, arts and science. Commemorated during the year long event will be the annual Hamilton Walk from Dunsink Observatoy to Broombridge in Cabra, on the 16th of October.

'Squiggle’, MDF, oil, ink, hinges

‘Knot’, MDF, varnish, timber, g-clamp

Artist Statement

In the production of my work I strive to be aware of the fact that I am not always in control of materials, of processes. My work emerges from a dialogue with or a struggle against materials.

‘Discard’, Glass and ceramics

Artist Statement

“I am an avid sea-angler and passionate about the preservation of indigenous Irish fish species. My work assumes the role of advocate to support the problem of depleting fish stocks around Irish shore lines, particularly those in the Dublin Bay area.The Dublin Bay originally boasted a huge population of diverse fish species including monk fish, white fish, cod and plaice however, over fishing and an absence of government policies has highlighted these once great fishing destinations as being heavily depleted and in some cases devoid of many indigenous species.

Research highlights that fishing stocks could be fully restored if commercial fishing was regulated to a higher standard and access to inshore fishing was limited. At the moment recreational anglers arf the only advocates attempting to address this problem with commercial fishing boat's making the problem worse. This body of work titled ‘Discard’ seeks to use my artistic abilities to highlight the importance of the issue of depleting indigenous Irish fish species.”

Trevor casts his pieces from fish he catches, with a technique that is unique in Ireland.

CollectionsOPW (Galway National Marine Board)

‘53.3478N, 06.3430W (Roller Door)’, Acrylic on board

‘53.3817N, 06.5813W (Yellow Pipe)’, Acrylic on board

Artist Statement

The work references the contemporary landscape where the periphery of representation and abstraction is explored. The paintings identify specific places, representing them, yet making them ambiguous and unclear. They go through a set of deconstructions and then reconstructions. The places are often banal architectural and geometric structures where a tension develops within the painting between the abstract and the figurative, between the rigid geometry and the painterly illusion. Each painting is entitled with a set of cartesian coordinates which indicate the starting point of the process and allow the viewer the space to investigate and question.

‘Laragh’, from the Palus series, Giclée print

Series Title: Palus (Latin for border / fence post/ stake) Origin of the term ‘The Pale’. 

The series of photographs are of landscapes outside the old border of the Pale boundary. Some of these areas were known as ‘The Lands of War’.

Project Statement

The word 'Palus' originates from Latin meaning stake or fence post and soon became a word to describe a boundary. From this word we get ‘The Pale’ which was the area settled by the English in Leinster in the late Middle Ages. This project is an exploration of the landscape closely situated outside the old Pale boundary lines which was known to some as 'The Land of War'. Fighting between settlers and natives was common on these lands because different people, laws, language and ways of life were in close proximity. Exploring these lands with a large format camera and through infrared film suggests an unchanging landscape that holds a quiet history. By seeing these lands differently, the medium also attempts to highlight the stillness of place where once much blood poured. The vast skies over the desolate lands show how little has changed from historic times when the land was seen differently.

The ‘Palus’ series is short listed for the Inspirational Arts Award and also the Irish Professional Photographers Association, 2012 I.A.D.T. Student Award.

‘Low Season’ series, Lambda prints mounted on diabond

About the work

‘Low Season’ is a photographic series dedicated to examining the effect that the winter months have on Irish seaside resorts and focuses on the coastal architecture of Ballybunion, County Kerry. Spaces that are typically heaving with holiday makers become vacant sites of dereliction in winter due to the seasonality of the place.

The photographer performs with light and colour, moving within the scene during the exposure, painting with light and using the architectural characteristics of the coastal buildings to interrupt the flow of light and outline certain areas. This abstracts the structure, transforming it into an unrecognizable place that is heightened by the unnaturally empty space and artificial lighting. The images use the light and colour to intrude on the structures of the beach setting; in turn creating a kind of formal abstraction where the light casts shadows and forms lines and shape in the structure, the coloured lights illuminate the scene giving life to these temporarily abandoned spaces.

Laura is a finalist in the Inspirational Arts Photography Award 2012. 

‘In-Valuable’, Slip cast earthenware clay, digitally printed ceramic decals

Artists statement 

“Our Values in Craft have gotten a bit skewed. Making it out of silver or porcelain or gold or making it really intricate doesn’t make something valuable... as I see it, it’s the object itself that counts”- Richard Slee

My work explores the means by which ‘value’ is awarded within the contemporary craft sphere.

Through the replication of mass-produced throwaway objects in clay, I seek to examine the position of technical skill; questioning the equation of ‘high skill with high value’ within craft today. The objects that I have chosen to replicate possess little value within contemporary society. They are seen as worthless; ‘throwaways’. The replication of these objects in clay involves a great deal of technical skill. Should the high level of skill involved in their recreation offer the normally worthless objects an increased value?

The role of the ceramist has changed dramatically over the course of the past century. Ceramics is functioning on a wide range of levels today; it acts not only as a utilitarian and decorative discipline, but as a vessel for conceptual statement.

While technical skill continues to occupy a primary position within the contemporary craft discipline, it no longer acts as the sole means by which to award value today. The objective of my work is to highlight the expansion of the ceramic discipline, drawing attention to the extended possibilities of the contemporary clay medium.

Helen has been awarded a FUTURE MAKERS Networking Award 2012 by the Crafts Council of Ireland earlier this year.

http://cargocollective.com/helenomalleyhttp://helenomalley.tumblr.com/

‘The Beauty of Imperfection’, varied size metal vessels and forms

"The paper could be crumbled up or even torn; It can still be beautiful. Perhaps beauty is only first perceptible when a person stops judging value using intellect. Unexpected coincidences are the finest of experience."- Tokujin Yoshioka

About the work

The starting point for this project was my interest in the bog bodies andother artefact's exhibited in the National Museum of Ireland. The wayin which the bog bodies were found; crushed and compacted in the bog,fascinated me.The imperfection of the bodies, in my mind, is reflective of the concept of Wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of the beauty of things imperfect. My intention is to achieve this aesthetic in my work by exploring the change that the objects go through when patinated, crushed or destroyed.

'Voice-over' series, 2012 photography/fine art print on diabond

Artist Statement

This work explores the idea of the ordinary becoming the extraordinary through photography. In questioning our visual expectations of the everyday, it highlights the cinematic qualities found within our normal surroundings.

Lynn has been chosen to represent IADT in the Inspirational Arts Photography Award 2012. The winner is announced on culture night in September.

‘Disclosure II’, Cast crystal hand mirror, dresser drawer, film, projector

Artist Statement

The optical qualities of glass lend to it a delicacy and preciousness. I use these qualities in the creation of blown, sculpted and cast glass forms to engage the viewer in emotive responses. The themes running through my work relate to the human condition, memory and nostalgia. These are themes common to every person and for many are highly emotively charged.

Through manipulation of simple forms, colour, and light, in blown, sculpted and cast glass pieces I hope to explore these themes in a personal but accessible way. The forms I create are recognizable and yet abstract from the precise object allowing the viewer to respond to the familiar and the unknown. The glass pieces are often placed within aged containers alluding to the personal narrative which is brought to the art making process, both in the making of pieces, and in viewing these. The arrangement of pieces is intended to remain simple, allowing the qualities of the glass to articulate the narrative.

About this work

My recent work explores the interrelationship of mind and body, with a focus on the dysfunction of the body, caused by stress and anxiety. The symptomatic damage caused to the body through stress and anxiety is hidden and can lead to the eventual collapse of proper bodily functions. The fact that we ignore these symptoms, and that as individuals we ignore our body responses to these conditions, was the initial impetus for this body of work.

Working as a visual artist in the medium of glass I am drawn to the body organ aesthetic and body responses. Utilising the reflective and optical qualities of glass I create elements of the known in unfamiliar situations.
In ‘Disclosure 2’ a projection is cast on the surface of a cast glass hand mirror hidden inside a dresser drawer. The projection shows the wringing of hands, a body response which is popularly associated with stress and anxiety. The bedroom furniture is a metaphor for the human body and the private nature of these issues. Through this work I am encouraging more open discussion of stress and anxiety.

Awards Commendations

Finalist Royal Dublin Society National Craft Competition 2012

Finalist Royal Dublin Society Student Art Awards 2012

Commendation N.C.A.D 2012: Thesis ‘Seal In Freshness: Tupperware in Contemporary Ireland’

Finalist Future Makers 2012  

'Deer Me’, Porcelain, silk, wool

Artist statement

“Currently my work attempts to locate the point of intersection between the external shared ‘reality’ of the physical world, and the internal, personal space of the individual.If a binary separation is to be applied to these spaces, then the human body is an interface between worlds, and through the body one place is transformed into the other.Through bodily appendages, imagined physical forms and shared visions, I create an environment that concedes my inner landscape.”