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'Forum'

Installation at the Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh

26th Sept - 5th October 2008

 

The work follows on from the recent installation 'Romantic' at Teach Ban Nua Gallery in Drumcliffe Co Sligo, and article in Circa Magazine of the same name (see Circa issue 124) in the way it aims to combine drawing and sculpture with a strong sense of site specificity.

It is based on a View of the Forum in Rome by 18th Century engraver and architect Piranesi. The work is sited in the Lakeland Forum a large and busy Leisure Centre.

The work is in two parts there is the large sculptural assemblage based on one element of the Piranesi, which is deliberately ramshackle in appearance; and the adapted version of a Piranesi, which has been laboriously transcribed and with examples of civic buildings from 1960s. The contrast between the precision and glamour of the Piranesi piece and the

Sculpture it stands in front of can be seen as a metaphor for the way that some grand architectural schemes may fall short of their lofty aims.

On one level the piece is intended to be quite humorous; the figures who wander around the ruined Forum are replaced with modern day youngsters complete with hoodies and trainers.

On another it references art history, the history of public sculpture and civic architecture, particularly the use of Classicism to assert certain values. Classical motifs have been used to evoke a sense of seriousness and possibly reverence in the eyes of the viewer. In Enniskillen the grand columns of Portora School are a perfect example of the use of classicism in this way.