MARKINGS
Supported by Leitrim Sculpture Centre Fellowship and Artist in Residence Programme, Arts Council of Ireland, Leitrim County Council Art Office, 2015
Curator Sean O'Reilly, Director of the Leitrim Sculpture Centre
Date: Friday 13th April - Monday 27th April
MARKINGS, the project gathers together and explores the different marks used by farmers to identify their sheep in the North West of Ireland. Each painting pays tribute to the farmer whose wool it comprises; painted dot motifs replicate symbols from each farmer’s unique sheep-marking vocabulary. At a time when traditional methods of farming are in decline, the artworks can become vessels, repositories of knowledge and memory. The large, hand-felted raw wool canvases painted using animal branding paints. The project includes photographic documentation, video installation, an excerpts from discussions with Benedict Gallagher sheep farmer and an interactive sculptural work.
'Mapping up' two-channel, site-specific video installation, an excerpts from discussions with Benedict Gallagher Sheep Farmer, Co.Sligo, Ireland. Sheep Breed, Markings, Horn Branding, Sheep Shearing, Pens, Dosing, Lambing Season, Marking and tagging of the ears, Hefting, Illnesses and Cures, Skills, Past and Future. Video work (duration 9.8 min.) Creating a dialogue with farmers and place the project opens on to a broader reflection concerning the signs and forms of identification humans use to identify animals, plants and territories.
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Markings Exhibition at Leitrim Sculpture Center: link
ESSAY BRIGITTA VARADI: MARKING MEMORY By Andrea Alessi: please click to download here
Mapping up-Markings from Brigitta Varadi on Vimeo.
Exhibition included photographic documentation of all participants in the project. This includes the farmers, the sheep and the wool which they kindly donated.
Participating sheep farmers: Noel Ruane, Tom and Bridie Moran, Benedict Gallagher, Lorraine Brennan, Mickey McGowan, Denny Dolan
Special Thanks for Bernie Gallagher, Frances Crowe, Peter Fulop, Sean Rooney, Ruth Le Gear, photographer Keith Nolan and curator Sean O’Reilly
Images by Keith Nolan Photography
