Opening: Thursday 9 September, 6pm in St. Luke’s Crypt and 7.30pm in Studio 12, Backwater Artist Group
Deirdre Frost presents the culmination of her Sample-Studios Graduate Studio Residency in St. Luke’s Crypt and her Backwater Artists Group Residency in Studio 12 in a two-venue exhibition trail of new immersive painting and sculptural work, ‘In Habitat, In Transition’.
Artist Statement
My work is an investigation into the physicality of being in an urban environment and how nature and the natural world is perceived through this lens. In a time of rapid change impacting climate and eco-systems worldwide, I investigate my local ‘habitat’ of Cork City – at the urban cycle of construction and demolition and at the seasonal cycle of growth of flora and fauna within this. Through direct engagement with this work, I hope to create a space for philosophical engagement between a duality of the man-made and nature and of our role within this.
St Luke’s Crypt features a sculptural piece composed of birch panels that rise from the floor in the centre of this space. It is intended that this form replicates an organic growing shape- the geometrically cut panels representative of the built environment, while the circular organisation of the panels calls to mind a growing plant form. Each clear-primed panel is painted in oil and acrylic, featuring scenes of parts of buildings interwoven with plants in a state of growth and tumbling apart. The viewer is encouraged to physically explore and navigate this structure, which includes a gap in the panels allowing entry to the centre of the work. Blackbirds are frequently seen hopping around the ground in Cork City, and a dramatic change of scale in their depiction in this series of paintings is a playful reminder of this shared habitat.
Paul Frost composed a piece for solo violin in response to this work, which is performed by Mia Cooper (leader RTE Concert Orchestra, Esposito Quartet). This piece is in five movements featuring a recurring River movement which acknowledges the island nature of Cork City and its ever-flowing rivers, as well as movements titled Blackbird, Seasonal Cycle and Urban Cycle.
About the Artist
Deirdre Frost is a Cork-based visual artist. She completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at the Crawford College of Art & Design Cork in 2020. In 2021, she had solo exhibitions in The Lavit Gallery and the Joan Clancy Gallery. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the CCAD Class of 2020 Valerie Gleeson Development Bursary, Joan Clancy Gallery Annual Exhibition Award, Lavit Gallery Student of the Year, Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary – Backwater Artists Group, CCAD Graduate Residency Award and the Sample-Studios Graduate Studio Residency Award.
Exhibition Trail Experience
Sanitised headphones are provided for your use in St. Luke’s Crypt or you can use your own ear/headphones and tune into the Sample-Studios Podcast to listen to the music. This exhibition ‘trail’ takes place in two venues across the city, St. Luke’s Crypt with Sample-Studios and Studio 12 with Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay. A map is provided in both spaces which outlines the buildings and sites along the way that have inspired Deirdre’s work. We invite you to listen to the music as you travel from one venue to the next and view these sites along your journey.
Scan the QR code to listen on your device:
deirdrefrost.com
backwaterartists.ie
