After yet
another day of meandering through shops—this time in Tullamore—I decided it was
about time I did something a little more enriching with my afternoon. As I
passed the Esker Arts Centre, a poster advertising two exhibitions caught my
eye. On a whim, I decided it was time for a cultural intervention.
As One
Leans into Another – Naomi Draper
First up
was As One Leans into Another by Naomi Draper. I cautiously navigated
the floor installations, genuinely afraid I'd step on something delicate and
undo hours of the artist's work.
At first,
I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. A diverse mix of materials and
objects filled the space—some cast or moulded, others found or gifted. But once
I read the brochure, things started to make more sense. My favourite pieces
were the fruits and flowers. Draper had cast their internal cavities to “give
form to the invisible spaces inside them.” (Nope, I didn’t come up with that
myself, but I’m glad someone did because it made me love the work even more.)
I've no idea why these took my attention but they did.
Dandelion Cordage
Marked
Lands – David Fox
Next, I
wandered into Marked Lands by David Fox. His oil paintings juxtapose the
energy of urban graffiti with the stillness of rural Ireland’s built
structures. (Yes, that’s another borrowed line from the brochure—but an
accurate one!)
What struck
me most was how much my opinion shifted. I’d always dismissed graffiti as scribbles
on walls ruining perfectly good stonework. But walking through this exhibition
made me stop, look again, and realise that graffiti can be a genuine, dynamic
art form. So much so, I looped back and viewed the entire exhibition a second
time.
In the
end, it was an afternoon well spent. I may not be a creative myself, but I
certainly know how to appreciate the work of those who are. And with free
admission, I managed to experience something meaningful and save myself
a fortune by staying out of the shops.
Culture
and savings? That’s what I call a win-win.
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