An Award Winning Ceramic Sculpture

(Public Award for the sculpture most popular with visitors.)

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Outside: Insight - Sculpture in the Gardens 2008

€4,500 [ Dimensions - 150cm L x 150cm D x 35cm H.]

Pollen Hotspot

It is a secret world visible only under a microscope. To imagine their size or quantity is unfathomable. They range in size from 20 to 250 nanometers – and a nanometer is a millionth of a millimetre! They are produced in such quantities that it defies imagination. A single birch tree might produce as much as 5 billion pollen grains in just one season. In addition, pollens are composed of such an incredibly resilient substance that they are resistant to rotting and can survive tens of thousands of years. In appearance they might easily be mistaken for something from another planet. Indeed pollen grains, which are usually spherical in form, have surfaces that often consist of very elaborate, three-dimensional patterns.

It is hard to imagine that all around us these tiny little sculptures exist in vast numbers, simply waiting to be carried by the wind or an insect to their final destination. Of course the majority of pollen grains produced by a plant will never reach that destination.

And so I focused my attention on the pollen grains that do not find their way home but instead might land on the Lochan at Brigit's Garden and rest there for a while. The pieces which were constructed in my own paper clay, seem to float on the surface of the water but of course they are supported underneath with metal spikes embedded into the pond floor.

In this piece I hope to give the viewer a glimpse into a world not normally seen by the naked eye and in so doing make this secret world known only to a few - accessible to all.

Brigit's Garden is a not-for-profit organisation on an 11-acre site near Moycullen, Co. Galway. The project is a unique combination of old wisdom and contemporary design. The theme of the gardens is the Celtic calendar and the four seasonal festivals, which are interpreted through contemporary landscape architecture, sculpture and craftwork. The result is a beautiful, tranquil place with a very special atmosphere. Brigit’s Garden is open to the public from February to October.

As part of their summer programme they are hosting their first Contemporary Arts Sculpture in the Gardens, running in parallel with the Galway Arts Festival. The intention is to develop Sculpture in the Gardens into an annual arts event that will continue to attract a high calibre of artist and present sculpture to a wide audience from Ireland and abroad. Indeed, Brigit’s Garden offers a magnificent setting for an outdoor sculpture exhibition.

Outside: Insight - Sculpture in the Gardens at Brigit's Garden, Roscahill, Co. Galway is an annual show which is held from July-September every year.

Installing the Pollen Grains:




	Finished Installation shots:

A big thanks to Paul Feeney and Liam Logue for their help with the installation, I couldnt have done it without you.
Thanks also to Jenny and Ceara and all the staff at Brigit's Gardens for their ongoing support and assistance.