Price €6,000 (€2,000 each), 2.06m high, 0.45m diameter.

Sculpture in Context 2010 at The National Botanic Gardens
Nexus at The Bluewall Gallery 2010

Continuing my exploration of all things strange and wonderful in the natural world, for quite some time I have been obsessing about Corals and Fungi.  In particular bracket or plate varieties.  Indeed, if we were to remove water from the equation some Coral and Fungi are at times so alike as to be indistinguishable.  Leave it to Mother Nature to achieve such symmetry.  However, the similarities are not all that surprising given that Fungi were for a protracted period in their evolution largely water based.  Clearly, the reverse is true today.  

Coral and Fungi are not just physically alike.  They both have to contend with many misconceptions.  For instance, most coral seem like exotic aquatic plants.  Yet, despite appearances they are of course animals.  In the same way, many would regard Fungi as a plant.  But Fungi is so strange an organism it merits a kingdom all of its own and is considered neither plant nor animal, but poses traits of both.  Indeed, we would be forgiven for thinking all Coral are benign and that all Fungi are only a nuisance - it is not so black and white.  The reality is both organisms are highly aggressive and territorial creatures and are some of the oldest and largest living things on earth e.g. Coral Reefs and the Honey fungus.  They also so happen to be oddly beautiful.  In addition, over their half a billion year history, their overall importance to our ecosystem cannot be underestimated, and without their existence the earth would be a much less diverse place.  For this year’s show in the Botanic Gardens I have taken my inspiration from both Coral and Fungi and in so doing created my own Fusion of the two species.

The sculptures were hand-built in a highly-grogged stoneware clay body and were high-fired in an electric kiln.  Each column consists of layer upon layer of individually sculpted and modelled clay brackets; there are approximately 500 brackets in total.  The island where they were installed was particularly beautiful and the pieces co-existed very well with the backdrop of the pond and the abundant vegetation that was present at that time of year.  My aim was for a very natural, organic form that melts into the landscape.  Hence, there is a fusion of Coral and Fungi but also of the sculpture into its environment.     

About Sculpture in Context:

This year Sculpture in Context celebrates its 25th anniversary at the National Botanic Gardens with its largest exhibition to-date. Over 120 sculptures by Irelands leading artists will be displayed throughout the Gardens, ponds, Great Palm House and Curvilinear Range, with the smaller works exhibited in the gallery above the Visitors Centre.  The magnificent grounds of the National Botanic Gardens have been home to this unique exhibition for the past eight years allowing both nature and art to fuse together to create a memorable visual experience.

Sculpture in Context was established in 1985 by a group of sculptors.  Their aim was to work on behalf of fellow sculptors to provide space for exhibiting work of sculptors in venues outside of their normal gallery context.  It has been successful in that aim over the years and has staged highly acclaimed shows each year at venues such as Fernhill Gardens, the Conrad Hotel, Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Management Institute, Dublin Castle, Farmleigh House and The National Botanic Gardens.  Each year a different panel of selectors is invited to adjudicate this open submission exhibition, leading to an exciting mix of mediums and styles.

The exhibition ran from 2nd September to 15th October 2010.