IDI Creative Axis - Institute of Designers in Ireland

Hook and I;an exhibition by IDI member Roisin GartlandRóisín Gartland, well known in the fashionindustry for her couture leather garments, isperhaps less well known for her artwork. Lastyear Róisín, who obtained her fine arts degreefrom iadt Dun Laoghaire, held her first soloexhibition from March 27th to April 6th inMisery Hill Gallery, The Tower, Pearse Street,Dublin 2.Róisín represents one of many specialistdesigners who are exploring different elementsof their creativity. This was common in otherperiods of history when many artists were alsoproduct designers and illustrators.The theme of the exhibition was expressedin the materials and tools of her business- theleather trade, as well as in ceramics andbronze casting. As Róisín says in herexplanation of the theme of the exhibition;“I inherited approximately 3000 pairs ofhooks and eyes from my father, who was afurrier. These stayed on a shelf in my studiofor several years. Occasionally I incorporatedthem into garments. My ultimate desire was toutilise them in some way to mark their journeyfrom the old workshop, from my father’s time,to my own… In this exhibition, the simplehook and eye shapes are the basic elementsused to map the flux of life as it moves fromone phase to the next. They have become avisual language, used to express joy, tension,harmony and balance…The ceramics are avehicle for impressions of the tools and thehooks and eyes, thus creating footprints in thefired clay of the archaeology of the family andthe relationships within it. The clay conveys atransient feel, but this is deceptive – the firingmakes for solidity…Leather is used both as asupport and a binding material. The boundpieces take the form of uncoiled suspendedswirls that interconnect in pairs or hangsingularly…Movement is captured in bronzeinterlocking twists that are both playful anddurable. These are originally formed bydipping shapes made from twisted tissuepaper into hot wax. These shapes transformfrom solid to liquid and back to solid again,before taking up a new form entirely when thewax has hardened, trapping the finalmovement”The writer Michael O’Loughlin madethe following points in his introduction tothe exhibition.“These images have a curious effect. Weare the first generation for whom, thanks tomicroscopic photography, the image of ourown essence, the machine that generates us,has become almost a visual cliché. But in thiswork, they are seen anew, as if the materialhas found this form by itself, a form whichwas inherent in it, and which expresses it.There is something primeval about thefurrier’s trade. After all, its handiwork canbe seen on the earliest known cave paintings.Fundamentally, we are wearing the skins ofour fellow creatures, in order to assume theirqualities, both practical, in terms ofprotection from the elements, and moreintangibly, to assume their other qualities.It is no accident that Venus wears Furs.Her use of leather in many of the pieces isfunctional, as it is a pliable and durablematerial. But it also gives a strangelyshamanistic atmosphere.Her ceramic work is full of strings andthreads, again material inherited from herprevious life. But with those photographicimages imprinted in our visual memory, wecan see them as microscopic pictures ofchromosomes. They leave fossil-like printswhen burnt away in the kiln, just as thegenetic code imprints the raw earth we aremade of, to be fired by experience.The ceramics, sculptures and installationsas a whole give the impression of a distinctpersonality systematically generating animage of itself, in obeisance to unknown butimplacable rules. Whichever form she uses,her work carries the aura of true art.”The exhibition, which was opened byProfessor Brian Maguire – NCAD, was verywell received and Róisín was happy with theresulting sales. Since the exhibition endedwork has been shown at; the Access to Artsgallery, ‘Aniké’, Longford Place, Monkstown,Co. Dublin. Pieces of her work were auctionedby the IDI in the Origin Gallery in December2006Róisín is now developing her creativework in a further direction as well as workingon new designs for her couture work.Photography by Stephen Moran.Breda Haugh MIDI is a jeweller/ designer currentlycompleting orders from Showcase 2007. Other areasof work have included designing for the manufacturingJewellery industry in Ireland and developing andproducing unique jewellery for the National Museumof Ireland-based on some of their artifacts.‘A Bronze Pair’ Roísín Gartland workProfessor Brian Maguire and Roísín GartlandNEWSBombay Sapphire glassNow in its fifth year, the Bombay SapphireGlass competition’s popularity with emergingdesigners continues to grow with more andmore countries from around the world takingpart. This year, 26 countries will berepresented in Milan, including: Belgium,Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark,France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy,Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway,Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, SouthKorea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand,Turkey, the UK and USA.Many IDI student members have enteredthe competition and Cameron Ross MIDIand Barry Sheehan MIDI have been involvedin the Jurying process with other judgesBrian McGee, Nicola Connolly, Eoin Lyons,Sinead Christian and John Rocha.Waterford Crystals' involvement has madeit possible for the students to see their workproduced by an established manufacturerand has also taught them about process andthe technicalities of designing for production.The IDI look forward to further involvementwith Bombay Sapphire in 2007.Tara Whelan with her winning glass Ripple 200631