Welcome to the Neighbourhood/ Askeaton, Limerick, Ireland / 2023

As part of a residency at Askeaton Contempoary I presented a series of bricks, made from river clay dug up at low tide on the Shannon Estuary, I collected this river clay to think about how mud and clay hold traces of time trapped, where dead and living creatures are found, and are often preserved by it – hybrid creatures found in mud, murky myths that merge from matter. I processed this clay, tinting it red to replicate bricks found at the Hellfire Club, located in the centre of Askeaton – a place where wealthy men were known to come together, to hunt, drink, gamble and share stories. I was told that some of the bricks found in the construction walls of the club contained deer or goat hove prints, once imprinted by animals when the bricks were left out to dry. These reproduced bricks, exhibited in Askeaton hardware store, contain the imprint from a local goat, and illustrate the entangled relationships between human and animal and the myths and stories that circulate around them both. NOTAEKSA, the word ASKEATON spelt backward, is imprinted on each brick.

A second work looks at rivers, water, mythology and conservation. Bird decoys, which often function to aid hunting, have been known on a few occasions to aid conservation projects, to lure birds back to an area, where populations have decreased due to habitat loss, pollution and climate change such as the local river Deel in the area. The bird decoys assist the birds to return to an area, as when they see other birds, it means it must be safe. In pagan Ireland water was always under the protection of a female spirit. Here these wooden birds, some hybrid beings representing female deities, float with the tide on the Deel.

More information can be found here

Kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland