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James L Hayes is an Irish contemporary visual artist whose current work and research practice reinvests a modernist sculptural language. Recent projects use methods of artistic production as a means by which to interrogate the boundaries between artist, artisan and art object in order to draw out the often-incongruous relationships between finished art objects, and the industrial aspects of the processes that produce these revered objects.

This research-based practice has an art historical agenda, referencing key creative influences such as the celebrated Welsh artist Barry Flanagan.

Broader research interests range from contemporary interpretations of sculptural legacies, to site-specific interventionist works that draw from traces of significant pasts and histories.

Previous works have drawn on diverse subjects such as industrial archaeology, other environmental concerns and social and economic conflicts. Hayes predominantly sculptural practice also encompasses multi- disciplinary and sensory-based sculptural installations. He exhibits his works nationally and internationally whilst also developing large-scale public art commissions and site-specific projects.

He has been awarded numerous awards and grants to support his practice and he also invests heavily in the University educational sector and work across the UK & US higher education system frequently taking part in visiting lecturing series and international cross collegial projects and events. Hayes is a graduate of Limerick School of Art & Design, De Montfort University Leicester and the University of London. He is the principal lecturer in Sculpture at the Crawford College of Art in Cork, Ireland.
Education & Qualifications
2001 Post-Graduate Certificate in Art & Design Education- Institute of Education-University of London, UK ● 1997 Masters Degree in Fine Art- De Montfort University, Leicester, UK ● 1995 Bachelors Degree in Fine Art –Sculpture-Limerick School of Art & Design, Ireland ● 1994 National Diploma in Fine Art-Sculpture-Limerick School of Art & Design, Ireland ● 1993 Erasmus Scholarship-University of Vigo, Galicia, Spain
One Person Exhibitions
2019 Galvanise-James L Hayes-The MART Gallery, Dublin, Ireland ● 2016 A Near Visible Past, UNO St.Claude Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ● 2014 The Myler Fields, Nuns Island Theatre, Galway Arts Centre, Galway ● 2012 The Essence of Taste, The West Cork Arts Centre, Cork ● 2011 Dark lights continued… The Good Children Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ● 2010 Looking into the light of dark matters.. Droichead Arts Centre, Co.Louth ● 2009 In Memory of Hostile Encounters… Limerick Printmakers Gallery, Limerick ● 2007: West of no East, The James Barry Gallery, CIT Cork Institute of Technology, Cork ● 2005 Spotlight Catmose Gallery, Oakham, UK ● 2003 Identity The Market House Gallery, Waterford
group exhibitions & Selected Works
2020 HOME:Being & Belonging in Contemporary Ireland, The Glucksman, UCC Cork-Curated by Chris Clarke & Fiona Kearney ● 2018 Art Market Budapest-Represented by MART Gallery Dublin | SITE- The Doswell Gallery, West Cork ● 2017 RE:INFORCE Pop Up Gallery, 6556 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles as part of Ireland Week | Art Market Budapest-The MART Gallery Dublin | Destroy These Walls, Arena ! Gallery, Santa Monica, LA , USA ● 2016 Supermarket Art Fair Stockholm, Sweden, Represented by MART Gallery, Dublin | HYBRID Ireland-Regional Cultural Centre, Donegal-Curated by Rian Kerrane ● 2014 Translucent Flag-The MART Gallery, Rathmines, Dublin | FLIP-Curated by Feargal Cunningham TACTIC Gallery, Cork ● 2013 ‘Curbyourcarriebradshawism’, MART Gallery, Dublin ● 2012 HYBRID- Redline Contemporary Denver, Colorado, USA ● 2011: Invite or Reject- MART USA Tour- New York, Chicago & LA | Camden Fort Meagher Commission Series, Cork ● 2010: The Mart Instructional Tour, The Lewis Art Gallery, Jackson, Mississippi, USA | The Mart Instructional European Tour-‘Entrée’, Bergen, Norway, ‘Shunt’, London, ‘Stadbad’, Berlin ‘Space’, The Molesworth Gallery, Dublin | The Worcester Open- The Worcester Museum & Art Gallery, Worcester, UK | The Eye-Kea Project-International Video Art Event-The Basement Project Space, Cork ● 2009: How do you Know?-Emerging Contemporary Irish Artists- Blankspace Gallery Oakland, San Francisco, California, USA | The International Conference on Contemporary Sculpture at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark-Birmingham, Alabama, USA | Iron Tribe Invitational -Burris Hall Gallery -New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA ● 2008 Global Warming at the Icebox-Crane Arts Philadelphia & The ICEBOX, Philadelphia, USA-Curated by Adelina Vlas- Philadelphia Museum of Art Iron Tribe Invitational - Demuirge Studios & Gallery, Denver | EV+A , Too Early For Vacation, Limerick, Ireland -Curated by Hou Hanrou – The San Francisco Art Institute
Recent Awarded Grants & Project Funding
2019 Travel & Training Award -The Arts Council of Ireland ● 2018 Project Scheme Funding Award -Cork City Council ● 2016 Travel & Training Award -The Arts Council of Ireland ● 2015 Culture Ireland Funding Award -Centenary 2016 Program, I AM IRELAND ● 2013 Travel & Training Award-The Arts Council of Ireland ● 2012 Culture Ireland Funding Award ● 2011 European Research Grant -Cork Institute of Technology-Research Office ● 2010 Culture Ireland Funding Award-Imagine Ireland | CIT CCAD Research Grant Award ● 2008 Travel & Training Award -The Arts Council of Ireland ● 2007 Travel & Training Award -The Arts Council of Ireland ● Individual Artist Bursary Award -Cork City Council | 2006 Travel Award -Cork City Council
Residencies
2019 Guest Artist Residency - 50th Annual Iron Pour- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA ● 2015 The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Residency Program ● 2013 Serde Artist Residency, Azipute, Latvia ● 2007 Salem Art Works, New York, USA ● 2003 Curwen Print Studio, Cambridgeshire, UK
Recent Reviews & Articles
The Irish Times, Aidan Dunne August 2019 ● The Irish Arts Review, August 2017 ● VAI Newsheet Issue 5 2016 ● Enclave Review Issue 10 2016 ● The Irish Arts Review Vol.33, 2016 ● VAI Newssheet Issue 1, 2016 ● Irish Arts Review Vo.32. 2015 ● VAI Newsheet Issue 1 2014 ● VAI Newsheet Issue 3 2012 ● Enclave Issue 6-2012 ● The Irish Times –Gemma Tipton 09/09/11 ● VAI Newsheet 01-11 ● Enclave Issue 2 Autumn 2010 ● NSF FACT Nov.2010 ● VAI Newsheet 6-10 ● VAI Newsheet Isuue 5-10 ● VAI Newsheet Isuue 4-10 ● The Irish Examiner -16/12/09 ● VAI Newsheet-Issue 1-10 ● ISC Sculpture Magazine (ISC) No. 7 Sept. 09 ● VAI Newsheet-Issue 6-09 ● VAI Newsheet-Issue 3-09 ● VAI Newsheet-Issue 2-09 ● CIRCA-124-Summer 2008 ● The Irish Times-Article -Aidan Dunne 19/03/08 ● The Irish Examiner-Interview 05/2/08-Aileen Quinlan ● The Irish Independent-09/01/08/ ● The Evening Echo-Article 26/01/08/ ● The Irish Examiner-Interview -10/01/08-Ailleen Quinlan (Spring 08) ● The Sunday Times-Culture-23/03/08/ ● The Evening Echo- Article -07/11/07
Commissioned Projects
2019 Sculpture Commission -Franconia Sculpture Park ● 2015 Sculpture Commission -Office of Public Works (OPW) & Cork County Council-Public Art Commission, Cork | Sculpture Commission Arts Council of Northern Ireland-Building Peace Through the Arts Public Art Commission - Dundalk Institute of Technology ● 2014 Public Art Commission Galway County Council, Athenry Galway ● 2013 Sculpture Commission Mayo County Council, Brackloon, Westport, Mayo ● 2012 Sculpture Commission Ardscoil Ris Limerick in association with Healy & Partner Architects ● 2010 Sculpture Commission Camden Fort Meagher by Cork County Council | Sculpture Commission at Aras Inis Gluiare (The Erris Arts Centre)-Mayo County Council ● 2009 Sculpture Commission at Gurranabraher Churchfield Centre by Cork City Council
Visiting Guest & Artist Lectures
2020 Guest Faculty-Stephen F.Austin University, School of Fine Arts, East Texas, USA ● 2019 Guest & Lead Artist -Sculpture Week at La Salle College of Creative Arts, Mc Nally School Creative Arts, Singapore ● 2018 Guest Faculty - Endicott College, Massachusetts, USA ● 2016 Guest Artist & Lecturer, -GPSA Program- Arizona State University (ASU), Phoenix, Arizona, USA ● 2011 Guest Lecturer at Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, Georgia | Guest lecturer at Louisiana State University –MFA & Sculpture Department | Guest lecturer at University of New Orleans- Department of Fine Art/MFA Graduate School ● 2008- Visiting Lecturer at University of Denver at Colorado, USA ● 2007- Visiting Lecturer at New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA ● 2007- Visiting Artist at Milton Keynes Gallery, MK, UK
Web-links
www.jameslhayes.ie ● mart ● IRON-R 18 ● IMMA Residency Artist - James L Hayes ● In an attempt to find the right words... at publicart.ie ● Fort Camden Commissions-2011 at publicart.ie

selected work

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

  • Hephaestus Throne / Hephaestus Lament, Durational Performance & Cast-Iron sculpture, 2500x350x750 cm, 2019

hephaestus throne / hephaestus lament | 2019

This sculptural and durational performance work was made during the IRON 50th Project held at the Wayne E.Portraz Foundry at the University of Minnesota Regis Center for Arts in May 2019. The work was made in collaboration and with the assistance of artist Lynn-Marie Dennehy and US based artists Tamsie Ringler & Wayne E.Portraz.
This performance work and its accompanying score and narrative was inspired by the Greek God Hephaestus, Hephaestus is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy and fire. One myth tells of Hephaestus being the son of brother and sister Zeus and Hera, in which he was conceived during their 300-year, secret affair.
Allegedly deformed at birth and hence not being deemed perfect enough by his mother to sit amongst the Gods, she threw him from Olympus onto Lemnos in the Greek Sea, where he was rescued by Sintains Sea Goddesses Thetis & Eurynome. Thetis & Eurynome nurtured the abandoned Hephaestus and developed his gifts to become the alchemical craftsman and divine blacksmith. Hephaestus growing and transcending his physical disabilities, lameness and ugliness, expresses his authentic power through his gifted craft of metals. He later returned to Olympus bearing a gift for his estranged mother Hera, a golden Throne, from which it is told, that when she sat upon on it, she was bound by invisible chains and could not move nor speak….… Captured here and silenced, none of other gods could release Hera causing much consternation amongst them and on some of their attempts to release her, the Throne would levitative into the air or powerful bursts of flames would be released from it.
This act of revenge and redemption for his rejection and abandonment, established his power that the other Gods could now not ignore. This work again aims to reference this myth along while also referencing key influences on ongoing sculptural practices such as the modernist sculptors in particular the ‘Anvil’ and ‘furniture’ works by the celebrated late modernist welsh Artist Barry Flanagan. Hayes’s work was underpinned by a timeline and score which was reflected in the performic based production of Hephaestus Lament at the same time of sculptures production at IRON 50th Cast iron Pouring event on Friday 2nd May 2019.
The work is now on permanent display at Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota, USA. Event Card

  • No good deed goes unpunished, cast plaster multiple, 8mtrs x 4mtrs, 2019

  • No good deed goes unpunished, cast plaster multiple, 8mtrs x 4mtrs, 2019

  • No good deed goes unpunished, cast plaster multiple, 8mtrs x 4mtrs, 2019

  • No good deed goes unpunished, cast plaster multiple, 8mtrs x 4mtrs, 2019

no good deed goes unpunished | 2019

The work will consist of 72 individual cast plaster painting/canvases; the pure white casts hung in grid formation on a darkened wall, echoing a multiple formation or ghost or echo of the former original.
The original canvas it was a depiction West Waterford and the Comeragh mountains, a ‘classical’ Irish landscape; exemplifying a notion of nostalgia; a longing for past or home.
The work casts the reverse side of this painting, hinting to challenge the notion of an art-object or pictorial display by creating a larger artwork from the mechanical support backing for the ‘work of art’ indeed for many such possible ‘works of art’; turning a back on the classical view; rejecting the surface of painterly presentation; resisting the urge to view such an image and its accordant narratives. This act of turning aside desired apparitions signals the prescient theme of our own time; another narrative, and the urgency of looking not at desired appearances but at underlying, often invisible supports of what we live upon; a response to the declarative evidence of current climate emergency and to modes of denial, cover-up and attempts to excavate or bring to surface the hidden and the essential. The darkened green background of the wall behind the mounted casts, suggests the stereotyping of the colour green as a nostalgic depiction of classical pictorial Irish landscape; and green as what, now, in planetary terms, might be lost in forests, bogs, wild regions.
Exhibition Card

  • The Gargoyles, Galvanized cast iron & plaster multiple (Cast iron 1/1 non-edition/ plaster edition 1-3 ), 2019

  • The Gargoyles, Galvanized cast iron & plaster multiple (Cast iron 1/1 non-edition/ plaster edition 1-3 ), 2019

  • The Gargoyles, Galvanized cast iron & plaster multiple (Cast iron 1/1 non-edition/ plaster edition 1-3 ), 2019

  • The Gargoyles, Galvanized cast iron & plaster multiple (Cast iron 1/1 non-edition/ plaster edition 1-3 ), 2019

the gargoyles | 2019

These series of Gargoyles cast come from directly from 9th century carving from a Medieval keep in North Cork. The cast multiple aims to re-contextualize the original carving and highlights notions of time and historical and cultural significance.

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

  • The Scapegoats, 6 x galvanized cast iron sculptures, stainless steel, packing foam & shutter plywood plinths, 2019

the scapegoats | 2019

This new series of works, ‘The Scapegoats’, highlight new series of explorative cast iron sculptures that have been galvanised through the hot dipped zinc plating process. This process adds a unique layer of molten zinc to these iron castings. These works aim to reference and explore the historical and classical narratives around sacrificial scapegoat and also classical depictions of ‘The Scapegoat’ in particular William Holman Hunt’s representations of The Scapegoat from 1854-1856.

  • July 19, packing blankets & cast acrylic resin, 2019

  • July 19, packing blankets & cast acrylic resin, 2019

  • July 19, packing blankets & cast acrylic resin, 2019

july 19 | 2019

These two interconnected sculptural works aims to re-establish and re-introduce the concerns of a former modernist sculptural language. The works aim to make direct reference to Welsh artist Barry Flanagan ‘soft’ fabric works from the 1960s and ‘70s. In particular his fabric and wood works, June 2nd, 69 from 1969, Untitled I from 1972 and his performative film work The hole in the sea, 1969.
These two works made for a solo exhibition at the MART Gallery in Dublin in 2019, aim to in part remake some of the compositions and elements of these soft works using new casting technologies and materials and subvert the use of hard and soft materials replacing the ephemeral with the permanent and challenging the notion of art production and commodification.

  • The Hole in the Tree, cast iron, packing blankets, red twine, cast iron, gold leaft & cast arylic resin, 2019

  • The Hole in the Tree, cast iron, packing blankets, red twine, cast iron, gold leaft & cast arylic resin, 2019

  • The Hole in the Tree, cast iron, packing blankets, red twine, cast iron, gold leaft & cast arylic resin, 2019

the hole in the tree | 2019

These two interconnected sculptural works aims to re-establish and re-introduce the concerns of a former modernist sculptural language. The works aim to make direct reference to Welsh artist Barry Flanagan ‘soft’ fabric works from the 1960s and ‘70s. In particular his fabric and wood works, June 2nd, 69 from 1969, Untitled I from 1972 and his performative film work The hole in the sea, 1969.
These two works made for a solo exhibition at the MART Gallery in Dublin in 2019, aim to in part remake some of the compositions and elements of these soft works using new casting technologies and materials and subvert the use of hard and soft materials replacing the ephemeral with the permanent and challenging the notion of art production and commodification.

  • Bespoke, cast bronze multiple, felt, walnut & perspex vitrine, 2017

  • Bespoke, cast bronze multiple, felt, walnut & perspex vitrine, 2017

bespoke | 2017

Bespoke comprises of two internal impressions(casts) of artist right and left hands. These casts are set on a handmade felt cushion and presented on a walnut and perspex vitrine.
This work aims to reference the nature of artist hand /touch and nature of what denotes sculptural form in regard to the process of modeling a sculpture. This work a type or act of reverse modeling /through a squeezed impressions aim to acts as a counterpoint to reductive processes of removing material via modelling or carving etc…

  • Homegrown (waste), cast bronze multiple, felt, twine, walnut & perspex vitrine, 2017

  • Homegrown (waste), cast bronze multiple, felt, twine, walnut & perspex vitrine, 2017

homegrown (waste) | 2017

Homegrown comprises three large stems of asparagus cast in bronze, set on a handmade felt cushion. Presented on a walnut and Perspex vitrine.
These asparagus were grown in rural Ireland; Given that the asparagus is known as a seasonal vegetable grown in conditions that Ireland is well able to support, predominantly in the Vale of Evesham in the UK. The asparagus we buy in shops and supermarkets in Ireland is predominately imported and comes with heavy degree of food miles/carbon footprint. Additionally, the all year round demand for asparagus in Europe and north America comes at a great ecological cost to farmers of South and Latin America, forced to clear their indigenous forests and crops, destroying vital ecosystems, washing away fundamental resources to force grow crops into year-round production. Homegrown aims to signal this inherent contradiction and in relation to our desire to try and combat climate change.
This work mulls silently over the various sides of globe in which we, as consumers, fight against this crops’ natural order and its seasonally-induced rhythm of life to harness a year round crop to satisfy the culinary desires of western diets and desires. The work, through the irony of artistic production and the relative ‘eternity’ of representation as a bronze casting, mulls over such contradictions that underpin our culinary and island-home-stead health.

  • The Cellar, single channel HD Digital Film 12.5 mins, edition1/3- 2016

  • The Cellar, single channel HD Digital Film 12.5 mins, edition1/3- 2016

the cellar | 2016

This work draws from Hayes’s early career experiences working in a renowned London Fine Art foundry, which is revisited in this new film work from 2016. This documentary style works that draw out the often incongruous relationships between finished art objects, and the industrial aspects of their storage and processes that produce these often revered art objects/sculptures.
'Hayes' film Cellar explores a storage facility of renowned fine art foundry in London's East End. As the camera snakes through the bowels of a warehouse where casts are stored in serried ranks – split and crumbling husks in carnal shades; bone white, the fleshy pink of vinyl moulds, fibre glass shells the nicotine yellow of smoke stained teeth. In murky corners, strange bodily forms reveal themselves among less decipherable shapes - the top of a head, something that could be the leg of a horse, familiar names or fragments of celebrated sculptures by blue chip artists; (it seems a sly coincidence that the ceramic shell moulds used for casting are commonly called ‘investments’), but they exist here as if in reverse, in a strange, jumbled half-life.'
Sarah Kelleher, Art Historian & Curator Pluck Projects 2016
First shown at UNO Gallery in New Orleans as part of Culture Ireland's I AM Ireland Centenary Program in 2016. Exhibition Publication

Please contact the Artist to view the complete film.

  • Two balls of twine for Barry Flanagan, Bronze unique casting, non-edition 1/1, packing felt, perspex, galvanized steel, 2001-16

  • Two balls of twine for Barry Flanagan, Bronze unique casting, non-edition 1/1, packing felt, perspex, galvanized steel, 2001-16 (detail)

two balls of twine for barry flanagan | 2001-16

This work, reworked over numerous years, aims to reference some early modernist ephemeral rope works and sculptures works by the late Barry Flanagan.

  • Cups Series 1, unique castings, non-edition, 2015

  • The thin end of the wedge, bronze, unique casting, non-edition 1/1 -2016

  • Hand-made, bronze, unique casting, non-edition 1/1 -2016

  • The one we watched over & over..., bronze, unique casting, non-edition 1/1 -2016

  • Mixtape, bronze, unique casting, non-edition 1/1 -2016

the analogue series | 2016

These sculptures take the remnants of the casting process as a part of the work, leaving on the runners and risers, which would normally be discarded. To anyone who knows how to make castings the structure and shape of the forms is obvious- they bear the signs of their making- to the untrained eye they are objects of the past- analogue tapes, cassettes and cups held up trophy-like by rods. There is a contradiction between the nod to preparatory processes and unfinished objects, and the preciousness by which these sculptures are finished, treated and displayed.
…

  • Aloft on a Rock, cast mashed potato multiple, MDF, HD Digital Film & Audio soundtrack, 2012/2016

  • Aloft on a Rock, cast mashed potato multiple, MDF, HD Digital Film & Audio soundtrack, 2012/2016

  • Aloft on a Rock, cast mashed potato multiple, MDF, HD Digital Film & Audio soundtrack, 2012/2016

aloft on a rock | 2016

This two-part work Aloft on a rock, (Devil’s Tower)’ draws from the anthropological history and popular culture of the USA, referencing well known imagery from the Hollywood film industry in order to explore the supernatural and superstition through science fiction. In a nod to the seminal scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977, this work aligns the landscapes of Ireland and the USA via the use of the potato. It alludes to shared cultural history forged not only through displacement and immigration but through popular culture. The film element was filmed on location at Devils Tower National Park & monument in Wyoming in 2012, during production of first HYBRID exhibition held at Redline Contemporary in Denver Colorado.
Commissioned for HYBRID IRELAND, Regional Cultural Centre, Donegal, 2016. Curated by Rian Kerrane.

  • The Portrait of Simon English by Stanley English, Series 1-18 Plate-lithograph / Chine-collé/BFK Edition 1/3, 2016

  • The Portrait of Simon English by Stanley English, Series 1-18 Plate-lithograph / Chine-collé/BFK Edition 1/3, 2016

  • The Portrait of Simon English by Stanley English, Series 1-18 Plate-lithograph / Chine-collé/BFK Edition 1/3, 2016

  • Irish artist Simon English as a young boy, modeled by his father Stanley English, 1960?

the portrait of simon english by stanley english | 2016

This series of prints documents the process of mould making a clay head portrait of the established Irish artist Simon English as a young boy, which was modeled by his father Stanley English in the 1960’s. The work aims to explore the process that simultaneously preserved and destroyed the original clay head/artwork.

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

  • In Celebration of Two Non-events, two-part sculptural installation, cast iron, found furniture, digital sound & motion sensors, 2011

in celebration of two non-events | 2011

This two-part sculptural sound installation utilised a range of found materials, from the Former Fort Camden site at the entrance to Cork Harbor and was located in two rooms of the casemate buildings in the Fort Camden barracks. Fort Camden was never subjected to military attack and so this work comments on the function of this site by focusing on the plate as a symbol of domesticity and routine meal times, as a less dramatic aspect of military life. The plate works in both rooms were made by collecting scraps of cast iron from the former guttering, railings, and balustrades on the site.In one of the rooms a series of iron plates are placed on a plate rack from the military kitchens, these plates are marked with the coordinates of the place in which the iron, from which they are cast, was found. This work was accompanied by a motion sensor which triggers the sound of rattling plates when the room is entered. The second room is made up of a series of commemorative plates which display the crescent of king George III, transferred from a canon found on site. These plates stand on wooden stands made from former floorboards of the case mate buildings. They stand on pastry tables from the barracks kitchens. This work was also accompanied by a motion sensor which triggers marching sounds and calls upon entry.
Commissioned by Cork County Council Arts Office
…

  • Bill & Annie, dual HD Digital Film/Projection, 42 mins, 2013

  • Bill & Annie, dual HD Digital Film/Projection, 42 mins, 2013

  • Bill & Annie, dual HD Digital Film/Projection, 42 mins, 2013

bill & annie | 2013

This split-screen video explores the notoriety of some of America’s most infamous early western frontier men & women examining their mythic status and legacy. Buffalo Bill & Annie Oakley remain to this day, two of the most well known names and faces of what may be considered the old American (wild) west. In these intimate films William F Cody, ‘Buffalo Bill’ & his long time friend and colleague Annie Oakley (real name Phoebe Ann Mosses), are played by a husband and wife team of Colorado-based impersonators. The video documents an intimate lament from both of the characters who reflect on their early lives and the cost that their notoriety and infamy had on their personal lives.
This work was filmed on location at the national Historic landmark of the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. This work was commissioned By REDLINE Contemporary in Denver Colorado for the 2013 International HYBRID exhibition curated by Rian Kerrane.

Please contact the Artist to view the 30min full HD work.
The Essence of Taste, cast iron & bronze, electrical motors, compressed air, actuators, sprayer/atomiser, soil & compost, stainless steel and filtrated asparagus essence and ethanol, 2013 (video demonstration)

  • The Essence of Taste, cast iron & bronze, electrical motors, compressed air, actuators, sprayer/atomiser, soil & compost, stainless steel and filtrated asparagus essence and ethanol, 2013

  • The Essence of Taste, cast iron & bronze, electrical motors, compressed air, actuators, sprayer/atomiser, soil & compost, stainless steel and filtrated asparagus essence and ethanol, 2013

  • The Essence of Taste, cast iron & bronze, electrical motors, compressed air, actuators, sprayer/atomiser, soil & compost, stainless steel and filtrated asparagus essence and ethanol, 2013

  • The Essence of Taste, cast iron & bronze, electrical motors, compressed air, actuators, sprayer/atomiser, soil & compost, stainless steel and filtrated asparagus essence and ethanol, 2013

the essence of taste | 2013

The sculptural element of this work is composed of a circular drill of cast iron and cast bronze asparagus planted in soil, combined with a kinetic, olfactive element that utilises scientific processes and distillation methods to examine bodily processes. At the center of the round of the ‘growing’ asparagus is a motorised, rotating, spraying device which intermittently sprays the circular drill of cast asparagus with the essence of filtrated ‘asparagus urine’ carried by ethanol. This essence was obtained by collecting amounts of urine form the human body after eating small amounts of asparagus. This was distilled and concentrated with the assistance of the chemistry department of University College Cork, Ireland. The work makes reference to ‘waste’ in terms of both bodily waste and wasteful financial and economical food practices.
…

site-specific work

The Tower, mirror polished 316 stainless steel, 11.5 metres, 2016/17 (video documentation from the day of install)

  • The Tower, mirror polished 316 stainless steel, 11.5 metres, 2016/17

  • The Tower, mirror polished 316 stainless steel, 11.5 metres, 2016/17

the tower | 2017

This major large-scale sculptural work was made in response to both the River Backwater and the Fermoy Scheme for flood defense. The commissioning process was managed by the National Sculpture Factory in Cork and the work was completed and installed in 2017.
Commissioned by the Office of Public Works in partnership with Cork County Council.

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

  • The Myler Fields, live performance & HD film work 3.35 mins & cast bronze sculptural multiples, 2014

the myler fields | 2014

This community-engaged artwork formed a community choir open to all residents of the Gort Mhaoilir housing estate in Athenry. After numerous weeks of rehearsals the Gort Mhaoilir resident’s choir performed in the green area of their estate which was documented. The choir performs the song The Fields of Athenry in this work which investigates both the place on which the song is based, and its common misconception. (It is a recently composed ballad that is often assumed to be from the mid 19th Century). As well as having an ambiguous temporality the song has also transcended its spatial references becoming an anthem of the sports terraces in Ireland and further afield. Furthermore across the globe it has become a symbol of Irish identity. An additional part of the project was a small permanent sculpture trail that is composed of bronze/cast objects donated and created by children from the community.
Commissioned by Galway County Council Arts Office. Please contact the Artist or Galway County Council Arts Office to view a full version of the HD film work. Exhibition Invite Exhibition Brochure
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  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 2567 cast bronze pencils, 2011

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 2567 cast bronze pencils, 2011

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 2567 cast bronze pencils, 2011

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 2567 cast bronze pencils, 2011

in an attempt to find the right words | 2011

This work consists of over 2500 individually cast bronze pencils. For this public artwork members of the public were asked to donate ‘significant’ pencils for casting and inclusion in the final work. Many of the pencils donated, by writers, artists and architects in particular, were accompanied by extraordinary and poignant stories which were exhibited alongside the work, re imagining the pencil as a type of talisman or carrier of personal memory.
Commissioned by Mayo County Council for Áras Inis Gluaire (The Erris Arts Centre)

  • Unity Through Design, mirror polished stainless steel, 2015

  • Unity Through Design, mirror polished stainless steel, 2015

  • Unity Through Design, mirror polished stainless steel, 2015

  • Unity Through Design, mirror polished stainless steel, 2015

  • Unity Through Design, mirror polished stainless steel, 2015

unity through design | 2015

This 5-metre stainless steel sculpture is installed on the grounds of the Dundalk Institute of Technology Campus in County Louth. The work responds to the cross boarder peace and reconciliation intentions outlined in the building peace through arts program by the ACNI.
Commissioned & Funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland: ‘Building Peace through the Arts’, Re-imaginig communities program the European Union’s Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE III) managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and the International Fund for Ireland.
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  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

  • Never the Same Day, copper, photo-riston etchings, wooden framing, glass, 316 mirror polished stainless steel & computer controlled LED lighting, 2013

never the same day | 2013

This public artwork is comprised of 50 photo etchings of images that relate to the everyday life and activities of Ardscoil Ris. The second work is a sculptural work, located opposite the array of prints on the left hand sidewall of the reception, being comprised of the same 50 copper plates that made the students prints and that have now been folded into replica sculptures of paper airplanes. The external work is located at the far end of the newly created Ardscoil Ris courtyard. This work is comprised of there larges scale stainless steel sculptural replicas of paper airplanes.
Commissioned by Ardscoil Ris & Healy & Partners Architects.
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archive

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 250 cast bronze pencils, motion sensors & digital sound component

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 250 cast bronze pencils, motion sensors & digital sound component

  • In an Attempt to Find the Right Words, 250 cast bronze pencils, motion sensors & digital sound component

in an attempt to find the right words | 2008

This work consists of multiple clusters of bronze pencils launched into the wall. The pencils are accompanied by the sound of frantic scribbling which emanates from the surface of the wall, evoking both obsessive creativity and frustration. The pencils cast shadows on the wall, lines and traces which hint at the function of these mark making tools.

  • Location, Location, Location, 3 x HD digital films (various durations) 2007/08

  • Location, Location, Location, 3 x HD digital films (various durations) 2007/08

  • Location, Location, Location, 3 x HD digital films (various durations) 2007/08

location, location, location | 2007/8

location, location, location juxtaposes three scenes which are the sites of past conflicts now existing as tourist attractions. The first scene documents a tour around a Titan 2 Nuclear Missile Silo in Southern Arizona. Scene two depicts Al Capone’s cell in The Philadelphia State Penitentiary. Scene three depicts the entrance to Monument Valley, Arizona. This is a site of grave and fabricated fictional conflicts as communicated to mass audiences in heroic western films in the 1950s & 60s by celebrated Hollywood directors, such as John Ford.

  • A Possible Brutal Solution to One of Ever Increasing Problems, 12 x cast bronze flyswats, cellulose spray paint, digital sound and motion sensors, 2008

  • A Possible Brutal Solution to One of Ever Increasing Problems, 12 x cast bronze flyswats, cellulose spray paint, digital sound and motion sensors, 2008

a possible brutal solution to one of ever increasing problems | 2008

This installation comprised of bronze fly swats and insect sounds aims to explore the increasing ecological problem of insect migration and erratic hibernation & pollination patterns as a possible result of global warming and the life cycles of insects.
Commissioned for Global Warming at the ICE Box exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2008. With thanks to Leslie Kaufman at Philadelphia Sculptors & Adelina Vlas at The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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The Rocky Mountain Flyer, HD digital film 3.35 mins. & found cast iron, 2008/09 (video excerpt)

  • The Rocky Mountain Flyer, HD digital film 3.35 mins. & found cast iron, 2008/09

  • The Rocky Mountain Flyer, HD digital film 3.35 mins. & found cast iron, 2008/09

  • The Rocky Mountain Flyer, HD digital film 3.35 mins. & found cast iron, 2008/09

the rocky mountain flyer | 2008/09

The Rocky Mountain Flyer charts the tragicomic journey of a polystyrene model jet plane as it attempts to cross the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The film is accompanied by a replica plane made of recycled scrap iron, found and collected from numerous locations in Denver, Colarado, USA.
With Thanks to Rian Kerrane & The University of Colorado, Denver

  • Looking Into the Light of Dark Matters, cast wax, recycled aviation oil, bronze, welded steel, digital video & sound 2010

  • Looking Into the Light of Dark Matters, cast wax, recycled aviation oil, bronze, welded steel, digital video & sound 2010

  • Looking Into the Light of Dark Matters, cast wax, recycled aviation oil, bronze, welded steel, digital video & sound 2010

  • Looking Into the Light of Dark Matters, cast wax, recycled aviation oil, bronze, welded steel, digital video & sound 2010

looking into the light of dark matters | 2010

This installation is comprised of wax and bronze replicas of polystyrene planes accompanied by digital projections and sound. These planes are each positioned on a steel structure reminiscent of a pylon or an oil derrick. The pylons suspend the planes at various heights throughout the space. The wax planes contain recycled aviation oil, evoking environmental issues and industry.
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