Visual Art

Foraois Brionglóid – Forest Dreaming was exhibited at the Cultúrlann in Derry in 2011 and funded by ADF. It evolved from my Picture-Text based visual art practice. Previous works; Surface Readings – Reading Surfaces artist-book, Belfast Exposed, 2009; Bone Dreaming digital print, Naughton Gallery, 2008; 1960 Belfast video poem, Irish Film Institute, Dublin, 1998.

The words photography and typography have their origins in the Greek word graphia, meaning writing. Whether with light or indeed letterforms I have always been fascinated by visual communication. I grew up hearing Irish and English spoken freely at home. Diversity of expression and the process of translation were familiar territory. Interestingly the word focal in English – (pertaining to the focus of attention), also exists in Irish. However, in Irish, focal – translates as word or comment. This awareness of alternative ways of saying, stemming from diverse ways of seeing, inspired my choice of Picture – Text as a visual medium.

          

Foraois Brionglóid – Forest Dreaming is inspired by ogham, a pre-Christian writing system aligned vertically on stone pillars and horizontally in manuscripts. Sometimes called the Gaelic Tree Alphabet, ogham characters took their names either from trees or properties associated with them in Celtic Mythology. The exhibition takes its format from the concept of a Celtic Tree Calendar. Using a lunar calendar, the year was divided into 13 months of 28 days plus one day, with Samhain recognized as the beginning of the Celtic year. The sequence of works are arranged to harmonise with the role of trees in folklore.

• Ibar              Yew                       1 Nov – 28 Nov.
• Ailm             Pine                      29 Nov – 26 Dec.
• Beith             Birch                    27 Dec – 23 Jan.
• Luis               Rowan                 24 Jan – 20 Feb.
• Fern              Alder                    21 Feb – 20 Mar.
• Sail                Willow                 21 Mar – 17 April.
• Huath           Hawthorn            18 April – 15 May.
• Onn               Ash                        16 May – 12 June.
• Dair               Oak                       13 June – 10 July.
• Tinne             Holly                    11 July – 7 Aug.
• Coll                 Hazel                    8 Aug – 4 Sept.
• Quert             Apple                    5 Sept – 2 Oct.
• Ruis                Elder                     3 Oct – 30 Oct.
• Bile Bua         Tree of Power     31 October.

Through the medium of ogham the works attempt to blur the distinction between picture and text. Individual hues were allocated to each letterform by mapping the colour spectrum across the ogham alphabet. In an attempt to translate language into light, text is reconfigured to act as a prism. By re-interpreting an alphabet sourced from our densely wooded past, the exhibition works as a lens illuminating our alienation from the less-forested landscape of the present. Having spent almost four years living and working in Australia, this work references aspects of Australian Aboriginal culture. ‘The Dreaming’ in Aboriginal mythology is defined as infinite, linking the past with the present to determine the future.