An Achill currach built by artist Mark Redden is part of a project on display for the next fortnight in Dublin’s Temple Bar.
Redden says the project began as a conversation about how a damaged two-handed Achill currach, An Trá Bán, owned by Rosie O’Reilly could “breathe life into a new boat”.
“Taking the beauty of its shape through Rosie’s charcoal rubbings and combining it with a build style that incorporates recycled furniture, hazel rod ribs and twine, An Mór Ríoghain was born,” he says.
The vessel is on display, along with work by both Redden and O’Reilly, at the TØN Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin.
Seaweed print-Strangers in a middle world by Rosie O'Reilly
O’Reilly’s will show a series of black and white film images, developed and printed using chemicals derived from an invasive seaweed, a Japanese kelp as part of an ongoing oceanic research project entitled “Strangers in a middle world’.
Her project had its first home at the terminal building of Porto’s port from Jan-March 2018 where she was artist in residency at the marine research institution CIMAR observing the study of marine invasive species.
Flight of the great fish by Mark Redden
Redden will show “An island of abundance and poverty”, taking early Irish literary romances as inspiration for this series of paintings and sculptures.
He says the work references the 11th century “Imrama” or navigations; and the voyage of Máel Dúin, which resembles the classical tale of Ulysses.
Redden has been building currachs since 2004, having worked with master boat builder Jackie Mons of Oughterard and Meitheal Mara in Cork.
An accomplished painter and sculptor, he still turns out currachs every now and then to share the joys of currach making and coastal rowing.
He has built boats in Norway, Spain and as far away as Tasmania, as well as all over Ireland and has won the Ocean to City regatta in Cork with a crew he trained in Barcelona.
In 2008, Redden established Iomramh in Barcelona, an association dedicated to currach building, rowing and oceanic awareness.
For the past 11 years, he has organised a regatta and festival around St Patrick’s day in Barcelona, which centres around his fleet of four currachs.
Both Redden and O’Reilly collaborated on a community project to build currachs for the East Wall Water Sports Centre. In 2016, O’Reilly acquired An Tra Bán from a Mayo fisherman.
To celebrate their latest project, a short talk was given last week by Dr Treasa de Loughry of the University College, Dublin School of English, touching on themes of blue humanities and eco-literacy, and this was followed by a discussion with the two artists.
Redden’s currach An Mór Rioghain and the artworks are on view at the TØN Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin, by appointment from now until May 15th. For information, contact Sorcha Finlay at 085 108 9899 or artist Rosie O’Reilly at [email protected]
