‘Collective Thoughts’ an Exhibition by Laois Arthouse Collective at Dunamaise Arts Centre
I am a member of the Laois Arthouse Collective. A group of eleven artists are having an exhibition entitled ‘Collective Thoughts’ in Dunamaise Arts Centre for the month of July and August which is open to the public from July 12th to August 28th. I have three pieces in this exhibition ‘Siren‘, ‘Bring me to Life‘ and ‘She Sells Sanctuary 2‘ which centre on the Mother Earth/busy Mother figure. There will be live and online workshops also in conjunction with the exhibition. See Dunamaise.ie for more information. With special thanks to @bankofireland and @businesstoarts for supporting this Exhibition, workshops and demos of our Collective Thoughts.
For my pieces I used Mannequins to represent Mother Earth/Mother Figure.
My main piece She Sells Sanctuary represents the Mother figure. I incorporated roots coming from the bellybutton to represent life itself. The roots spread all over the canvas which represents the Mother being pulled in all directions. The Mother suddenly was a teacher, nurse, doctor, chauffeur, therapist, leader. The sun/moon represent night and day, daylight and moonlight because families were at home day and night 24 hours a day. I also made the mannequin appear grubby like to signify the Mother figure not having time or energy for herself.
My pregnant mannequin ‘Bring me to Life‘ represents Mother Nature making a comeback. Our air was less polluted, people were gardening and growing their own food more than ever and investigating what herbs/natural products was good for their own health. Literally, In Bloom.
Siren represents the Earths elements Fire, Air, Water and Earth which are all essential for life.