Midlands Students To Showcase Art At First Exhibition

Monday, 24 April 2023 06:00

The exhibition takes place from tomorrow until Sunday.

Five midlands students will showcase their art work in their first-ever exhibition this week.

The Limerick School of Art and Design students will put their work on display from tomorrow until Sunday at the People's Museum of Limerick.

The new exhibition is titled 'The Land is Soft,' and focuses on Ireland's bogs and peatlands.

The third year Art and Design Teacher Education students are the first of their course to host an exhibition of this kind.

15 other students are also taking part in the exhibition, and you can see more of their work on their Instagram.

The showcase kicks off at 7pm tomorrow, and everyone is invited to attend.

We get a sneak peek at some of the work on display:

Edenderry's Ciara Kelly's work, titled 'Rehabilitation,' explores the documentation of a walking route, located on a renewable energy wind farm.
These watercolour illustrations depict the presence of a changing landscape, repurposing a once old, derelict bog, to a site of growth, community, and to make a positive change for today's climate

Ineta Eglynaite from Tullamore, is currently looking at the effects of being watched. In her piece, 'Scopophobia,' She explores how being observed is prevalent in our modern society through our devices and even in darkness.
Ineta is focusing on the effects of what can happen when fear turns into reality. She questions what if someone is watching back at us? What would they look like?
What would they feel like?

Mullingar's Rebecca Moughty' piece is titled 'With Love, from Granny,' and was first inspired by family stories of her grandmother who passed in 2020. We have people come in and out of our lives for a variety of circumstances; some leaving behind stories and memories that have special meaning to us. Using a mix of old family photographs, new photographs, and a collection of stories from others on people in there life they miss, Rebecca looks at themes of reminiscence, memory and connection to others.

Tullamore's Emma Pyke piece, entitled 'Liam,' has been inspired by the bog and the connection people have to the land. Upon visiting the bog in Dernagun, Co. Offaly, she became inspired by the stories of the owner of the bog, and the stories that the bog told itself.
Emma documents the lives of the people of the bog and the family history by painting the landowner's family, and the different generations by using the land as her paint. Through this, she was able to tell a story from the different features and materials used.

Aideen Bracken is from from Lisduff, Kilcormac. Her piece derives from an interest in local heritage, specifically Bord na Mona, and a love for the printmaking processes, Aideen has explored the post-industrial sites and documented the effects of Bord and Mona on her community, the past and present. Her work offers a portal into the lives of the workers, capturing working moments through the tactile process of etching and telling unique anecdotes through audio: