Lighting the Darkness
| December 21, 2011 | Posted by SuellaHolland under Exhibitions, News |
|
A collaborative Arts+Health exhibition celebrating our rich heritage of light.
Whenever anyone thinks of the shortest day of the year, the 21st of December, they think of the minimum length of time we can enjoy daylight. In County Meath we have another thought, that of the winter’s sunlight penetrating into the entrance chamber of one of our many ancient neolithic tombs. When considering how to highlight our rich heritage of light I let myself revert to something that always fascinated me from a young age, that of how sunlight can make the leaves of a tree seem transparent. With this image in mind our “Lighting the Darkness” project sets out to showcase this effect.
When you think of transparency you think of glass and when you throw art into the mix you enter into the world of stained glass, an art form and craft we have decided to use to highlight the beauty of nature thats on view in and around our most famous neolithic tomb, Newgrange. On this arts + health collaborative project we brought together groups from 3 different backgrounds; mental health, acquired brain injury and learning disabilities. Each group looked at the theme of nature and light in a variety of different ways. From the mental health sector we had 3 day centers: Kells, who choose the theme of the fruits of the land; Navan who had chosen the nature they had researched along a walk named the Ramparts that runs beside the river Boyne; and Dunshaughlin Day Care Centre who chose the theme of the hedgerows of County Meath.
From the brain injury groups we worked with the Brí members from Louth, Meath and Tallaght. Brí Meath worked on the theme of nature found in and around the meadows that surround Newgrange. Brí Louth created a piece celebrating the worship of the sun and Brí Tallaght looked at the many symbols from across the world that are associated with the sun.
Representing the learning disability sector we had a group of service users from Navan Rehabcare who looked at the plants and fauna that grow along the rivers edge. All 7 groups will be displaying their pieces of art to the public in the Brún Na Bóinne Visitor Centre in Newgrange, County Meath from Sunday the 18th of December 2011 until Friday the 13th of January 2012. They are really looking forward to presenting their work to the public in the visitors centre, on the 21st of December, the Winter Solstice at 11am. This is a very special time of year in the place that gave them the inspiration for their exhibition “Lighting the Darkness”.
All are welcome!
Mark Smith, Arts Co-ordinator with ArtWorks: A community arts collaborative working to create social inclusion through the arts.
Recent Comments