The Wexford Arts Centre Presents;
Twice Around the World | Interplay | The Ros Tapestries
An Exhibition of Work by Grace Hall
19.02.2019 – 18.03.2019
D’lush Cafe, 20 Abbey St, Ferrybank South, Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland | (053) 912 3795
Grace Hall – Artist Statement & Bio
After a lifetime interest in visual culture, in particular the performing arts, dance, theatre and opera, and following retirement, I decided to take the opportunity to pursue my interest in photography full time by studying for an Hons. Degree in Photography at the Dublin Institute of Technology, graduating in 2014.
My practice is strongly influenced by my interest and involvement in the performing arts.
Much of my practice explores the portrait, both documentary and studio, with a particular interest in the negotiated space that exists between the photographer and the subject in the studio.
My practice also includes other genres, such as still life, landscape, events and live
performance. I also carry out commissioned commercial work. I am resident in Wexford town.
Examples of my work can be viewed on my website www.gracehallphotography.com My email – grace.hall66@gmail.com
Twice Around the World
This body of work started life as a bowl of fruit, purchased in a supermarket, and photographed in a classic art style. In a time of mounting concern about global warming, the combined carbon footprint of the ten fruits comprising the body of work is enormous, the cumulative total of kilometres travelled – 83,219.64 km – being sufficient to encircle the world twice at the Equator, hence the title.
Using the classic form of still life, but depicted in a contemporary manner, I decided to create and image of each piece of fruit. Each image contains a single exotic fruit. The travel time from farm to supermarket for most of the fruits depicted would be in the region of a week. The distances travelled enormous. Even the most basic fruit such as apples generally come from South Africa. Many cookbooks and recipes use fruits such as those depicted in recipes without a thought for the carbon footprint involved. However, on the other hand, the use of these fruits gives employment in the producing countries and feeds into the economies of those countries.
Interplay
Interplay is a work in progress. Inspired by the work of the photographer Hiroshi Sujimoto, in particular his body of work called Seascapes, This body of work seeks to explore the interplay of light between the sky and sea in different conditions, cloudy, misty, calm, stormy etc. The photography is minimalist in form with only the sky and water as subjects and was photographed looking East from Wexford Harbour. Occasionally the sandbanks at the entrance to Wexford Harbour feature on the horizon.
The Ros Tapestries
In 1998 the Very Reverend Dr. Paul Mooney, rector of St. Mary’s Church in New Ross, conceived the idea of creating a tapestry depicting the medieval history Wexford and, in particular, the town of New Ross, to hang in the church. Ann Griffen Bernstorff was commissioned by the organisers of the Ros Tapestry project to paint the 15 cartoons (6’ x 4½’). During the development of the project, it was decided that the church was no longer a suitable venue for showing the tapestries, and that a dedicated site was required.
Over the last sixteen years 150 volunteers have stitched the panels, working with more than 450 different shades of wool. The work is now nearing completion with work on the final panel, taking place in Kilkenny. While there is much archived photography of the making of the panels, this body of work, by means of a formal portrait, seeks to make visible as many as possible of the volunteers as individuals, rather than as a unit in a group called volunteers.
Images from the series Interplay and Twice Around the World are for sale. Individual images mounted €75. In relation to the seriesTwice Around the World, purchase of all ten of the fruit images would be €700. The portraits from The Ros Tapestry are not for sale, unless the individuals portrayed request to buy their image, they they should contact me directly.
