The Sculptures - Page 1 of 4
Most of my sculptures are made using reconstituted granite, set on steel armatures. This makes them particularly suitable for public works and large commissions. In the near future I hope to establish a bronze foundry, which would allow me to make smaller works. I don't sculpt by competition, nor through fear of rivalry but because committees make camels. If you like my work, have loads of spare cash and have a space that needs a sculpture you can contact me via E-mail and take things from there.
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Old Lady Burning Leaves
Tullow Street, Carlow -
Wishing Chair
The Lord Baganal,
Lieghlin Bridge, Co Carlow -
Swans
Irish Life offices, Baganalstown, Carlow
Old Lady burning leaves. Tullow St, Carlow, Ireland.
The Chairman of Carlow council wanted a sculpture that related to Carlow's past. Frank O'Meara was a nineteenth century painter who was born in Carlow and later moved to France. I love his work, so I suggested we base the sculpture on a figure from one of his paintings. I created the work on site and it has since proved popular with the people of Carlow.
The Sculptures - Page 2 of 4
The Wishing Chair. The Lord Baganal, Lieghlin Bridge, Co Carlow.
The Baganal is an hotel situated in a historic building on the banks of the river barrow. The owner, wanted to reflect local history in this piece, so I incorporated two local settlements in the work. The village of Leighlin 13th centaury and the older settlement of Din Rie, which was the site of one of the first tribes to inhabit Ireland, the Fir Bolg kings had settled over the river some five thousand years earlier. The two vertical coulombs with intertwined figures represent the two settlements. The head stone represents the passage of time and the base is carved with Celtic inscriptions mapping the settlements.
The Swans. Irish Life offices, Baganalstown, Carlow.
My Irish house overlooked the Barrow valley, it's a beautiful view looking across the valley onto the Black Stair mountains. Four years ago I leant on a bridge and sketched two swans building a nest on the river, I made a machete for a large sculpture from the sketch and left it in a corner of the studio. Last summer an industrial estate was built next to the bridge, the builder of the estate, came up to buy some pictures and saw the machete. He commissioned a large piece from the machete and so, magically the swans return home.
The Sculptures - Page 3 of 4
The Book. The new bookshop Naas, Dublin.
In 1990 I was wondering the streets of Dublin looking for a large studio. I came across an old 16th century church in the centre of the city. I found the owner and asked his permission to use the church as a studio. He wasn't ready to build a bookshop into the character of the church and so let me use it for three years. It proved to big for a studio and so with friends, the arts council and local businesses we turned it into a gallery. We exhibited the work of four hundred and twenty-five artists during that period as well as other environmental exhibitions. After handing the church back I made a little machete of the Book, intending to make a large piece to present to, the owner and benefactor of the gallery. Artists are slow creatures and it was only last year that I presented him with the finished piece.
Reclining Figure, Cork, Ireland.
This is a full size machete for reclining figure, the finished work is in the collection of B Whitley, Cork. B has situated the piece on a plinth in a woodland clearing on her estate, I must take a photo to show you.
Machete to Charlie
I returned from Spain in January, determined to create a piece of sculpture to commemorate the Spanish Civil War and in remembrance of Charlie. A little while ago I produced a poem and painting lamenting the train bombings in Spain and handed it in to the Spanish ambassador in Dublin, so maybe something can come of it in the future. The machete depicts two bodies laying outside two walls, ( the two sides of the conflict ). In between the walls is a white village street representing the present day and the memories buried in the history of the walls. I want to try some more models with a child playing in the street to represent the present.
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Here'sthe poem that inspired me ...
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Hello Charlie, how are you my old friend?
I never knew your real name, but all the kids called you Charlie and so did I,
I recall no winters from that time, maybe your stories had something to do with summer,
You were an ancient man from a place called Spain,
Now in my fathers Ireland, I understand your exile in London,
You would bring a chair out to the dusty backstreet pavement,
The old bricks crumbling imperceptibly in the afternoon sun,
We would sit around your feet and the drone of London provided a backdrop to your stories,
In your broken English accent you would tell us of warm sunshine shimmering over orange soil, You spoke of whispered conversations in secret cafe's,
Of a dark steel cloud rising in the distance like thunder,
You trained and led a squad of men from all the corners of the earth,
And could remember each ones history,
They came with only their hearts, to a conflict that seemed doomed to failure,
Yet their hearts won freedom, You did not care who listened Charlie,
Your wine drained, you would fall asleep in those memories,
The white stubble on your lined face giving way to an open mouth and only a few yellow teeth,
But I felt your words Charlie,
And when I saw that soil, my mouth fell open too.
Through you, Picasso's Gurnica pierced my heart,
I found an old sickle in a field and brought it home.
You died in my London Charlie, for you I will die in your Spain,
What will I tell your children, on a timeless Spanish backstreet,
Things are not so clear now Charlie, but thank you for bringing us this far.