Once more with feeling and x+
By Saidhbhín Gibson

Saidhbhín Gibson’s work explores the framing of the non-human world for and by contemporary society. She employs multifarious methods of production in the manufacture of the work including sculpture, video, photography, drawing, print making and needlepoint lace. She examines the interference by humans of the Natural world and the dichotomy of yearning for wilderness when all landscapes have been mapped and colonised.

Much of the work exemplifies economy rather than excess or waste. Once more with feeling and x+ is a diptych of oak grids over salvaged pink and red perspex. The grids are composed of 4cm lengths of oak twigs.

We were drawn to the apparent simplicity and formal qualities of these sculptures. The forms are technically accomplished and clearly demonstrate a mastery of sculptural skill while also containing weighty narratives about our environment and the ways that we live in the world. The use of wood and perspex is a perfect distillation of where we are today in our ecosystems as plastic pollutes every part of nature.

Orla Barry, Seán Kissane (judges), ‘Encounters with the Land’ VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow, 2018

Origins

Set up in 1992, The Carlow Art Collection is a voluntary community initiative that has been surrounded by goodwill and generosity from the people of Carlow. It has expanded into a diverse collection of work with artists from around the world. CAC became a fully registered charity in 2018. The home of our art collection is in Carlow College. The Carlow Art Collection is free to view in the front halls of Carlow College, Monday to Friday, and in the garden every day of the year.

Today

The art works in the permanent collection include painting, print, drawing, sculpture, sound, photography, live art, film and activism, with more to come. The collection and CAC projects reflect a broad range of art by over thirty artists, many of whom visited, exhibited, engaged with or lived in the area.

Our Goal

The CAC is deeply indebted to the artists who contribute to the collection, to its board members past and present, and to the many people and organisations that support it technically and financially. The Carlow Art Collection will continue to expand on the ideas of what art is and what an art collection can be, and become.