Opening remarks Dr Orla Flynn, President GMIT/ATU
Curated by Peader Lamb
Desire Lines is an exhibition of artwork by Debbie Dawson and Helle Helsner curated by Róísín Foley. An artist led endeavour, it is the sum of many years’ collaboration and preparation whilst also marking a pivotal point of creative departure for both artists.
The exhibition deals with themes derived from the artists’ engagement with particular landscapes and the many layers that make such landscapes. Memory, time and identity are woven into the subject of place. The artworks featured in the exhibition present the artists’ respective visual languages, each developed through a conceptual and material investigation of their subject matter.
Paintings in a variety of scales, in oil on board, in hazy pinks and greens, and sketches on kiln fired glass are presented by Dawson, whilst Helsner displays bronze and other precious metals in a number of finishes and materials cast using traditional and ancient methods, along with charcoal drawings.
The profoundly tactile and sensuous materiality of each artists’ work mirrors the complexity of the stories held in the lived spaces they investigate. –Sarah Kelleher
