Galway Docks transforms to an outdoor gallery over the next fortnight with a simulation by leading Irish artist John Gerrard.
“Flare [Oceania] 2022” is the title of Gerrard’s work, which is part of the visual arts programme for the Galway International Arts Festival.
The simulated gas flare, which hovers between a flare and a national flag, is being streamed live on a seven-metre by seven-metre LED wall at the docks.
It is set within a seascape, based on photographs taken by Tongan artist and activist Uili Louisi depicting his heating ancestral ocean near the archipelago of Tonga in the Pacific.
Gerrard’s work is said to represent “an ecology in hyper distress and a world faced with the existential threat of rising seas”.
Gerrard is best known for his large-scale and site-specific work which has been exhibited in Ireland and abroad, including “Mirror Pavilion” which was Galway arts festival’s commission for the Galway 2020 European capital of culture.
The event takes place as cruise ship traffic returns to the Port of Galway. The port is also taking delivery of 80 metre turbine blades for the Ardderroo wind farm, a 101MW onshore wind power project due to be commissioned this year.
"Flare [Oceania] 2022" runs for 24 hours, and continues at Galway Docks until July 24th.