AMPHIBIOUS SOUND – 2009
Amphibious Sound was created during the Art@Work programme, in Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Roscommon. The Art@Work programme is commissioned by Roscommon Arts Office and sees 8 artists located within 8 different businesses for a period of 3-6 weeks. The expectation is that the artists create work within and alongside the daily workings of the business and that the two simultaneous practices would begin to influence each other.
Amphibious Sound was created in the canteen of the Lough Key Forest Park Experience over the course of 5 weeks.
70 Wetsuits, Lough Key Experience, Industrial Sewing machine
There is a huge depth of history surrounding Lough Key Forest Park. Working in the centre and looking out at the lake, I began to think of the dark waters as a metaphor for the submersion of history and water as the weight of time.The amphibious quality of the wetsuits means that they can transcend different realms. In Amphibious Sound this transcendence is aligned with time travel, and a medium to explore to the past.Driving from the coastal surf schools in Bundoran, Strandhill, Dun Laoghaire and Tramore, returning to the view from the Lough Key Experience the still black lake seemed both beautiful and oppressive.Cutting and sewing the wetsuits into a large amphibious blanket, inspired many wandering conversations with both staff and visitors alike. An interesting recurring theme of conversation surrounded faith and the belief in or possible existence of things beyond our perception ranging from such broad issues as extraterrestrials, clairvoyants, healers, history, mythology and religion.The thick black blanket began to spread out into the restaurant to the rhythmic sound of the sewing machine. While the expansive blackness looked like the depths of the lake waters, I felt that the sensibility of the material allowed for a temporary exploration of an intangible depth in the same way that the centre offers visitors a mediated experience of history.
Amphibious Sound is a neoprene sculpture measuring 10.5x 4m
