The Maker
Stuart CairnsEphemeral Coast
23 May - 25 June 2017
The material language of the landscape
My practice is concerned with the landscape, investigating a sense of place through collection, documentation and material manipulation. It springs from the draw of pieces of driftwood, certain shapes of stones and odd bits of rusty metal. The presentation of fabricated forms, alongside found objects, drawings and marks strive to show the unremarkable and everyday in ways to fire the viewer’s imagination. These familiar forms pull on memory and the association of moments spent, a material language of an implied landscape, half formed in the viewers mind, showing the richness that surrounds us.
Stuart Cairns is an Irish artist whose practice is concerned with investigating the environment and his relationship with it through walking, photography the collection of found objects. Working as a silversmith Cairns combines natural materials and found objects alongside precious metals to create artifacts in the tradition of tableware, tools and domestic objects. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Silversmithing and Jewellery from the University of Ulster in 2000, returning to complete a Masters degree in 2006. He is a member of the British Designer Silversmiths and a part-time lecturer at the University of Ulster.
Cairns has exhibited widely; selected exhibitions include Silver Speaks, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2016, Side to Side, The National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland 2015, Collect , The Saatchi Gallery 2012, Fit For Purpose, The V & A, London (2012) and the Linen Diaspora and the 4th Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portneuf, Quebec (2011). His work has been purchased for both public and private collections including the University of Ulster, The Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The Ulster Museum. Recently he was the first recipient of the Rosemary James Memorial Trust Award for Craft.
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Iaith Faterol y Tirlun
Mae fy ymarfer yn edrych ar y tirlun, gan archwilio syniad o le trwy gasgliad, dogfennaeth a llawdriniad defnydd. Daw o atyniad i ddarnau gyrgoed, siapau penodol o gerrig a darnau od o fetel rhydlyd. Dengys cyflwyniad y ffurfiau yma, wrth ochr gwrthrychau darganfedig, darluniau a marciau'r di-nod a’r bob dydd mewn ffyrdd sydd yn hybu dychymyg y gwyliwr. Tynna’r ffurfiau yma ar atgofion a chysylltiad munudau, iaith faterol tirlun awgrymedig.
Arddengys Cairns llawer; arddangosfeydd dewisedig yn cynnwys Silver Speaks, Amgueddfa Victoria & Albert, Llundain 2016, Side to Side, yr Oriel Grefft Genedlaethol, Kilkenny, Iwerddon 2015, Collect, Oriel Saatchi 2012, Fit For Purpose, y V & A, Llundain (2012) y Linen Diaspora a’r 4ydd Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portneuf, Quebec (2011).
Prosiect ymchwil curadurol yw Ephemeral Coast, www.ephemeralcoast.com wedi ei arwain gan Celina Jeffery. Daw ag artistiaid, ysgrifenwyr ac arbenigwyr newid hinsawdd at ei gilydd i archwilio sut all curadu cyfoethogi ein hystyriaeth o newid hinsawdd arfordirol.
Adnabyddai Ephemeral Coast yr arfordir fel ardal ac arddangosydd newidiad chwyldroadol yn naearyddiaeth sydd yn cymryd lle nawr oherwydd newidiad amgylcheddol. Mae’n amcanu fod curadu celf gyfoes yn broses unigryw gallwn ddarganfod, ddadansoddi, ac ail-ddychmygu cyflafaredd a amgylchynir y trawsnewidiad ecolegol a diwylliannol yma.
Ephemeral Coast, www.ephemeralcoast.com is a curatorial research project led by Celina Jeffery. It brings together artists, writers and climate change experts to explore how curating can advance consideration of coastal climate change.
Ephemeral Coast identifies the coastline as a site and indicator of the radical shifts in geography literally taking place now as a result of environmental change. It proposes that curating contemporary art is a unique process through which we may discover, analyze, and re-imagine the emotive discourses surrounding these ecological and cultural transformations.
Prosiect ymchwil curadurol yw Ephemeral Coast, www.ephemeralcoast.com wedi ei arwain gan Celina Jeffery. Daw ag artistiaid, ysgrifenwyr a gwyddonwyr newid hinsawdd at ei gilydd i archwilio sut all curadu ddatblygu ystyriaeth o newidiad hinsawdd arfordirol.
Nod Ephemeral Coast yw adnabod yr arfordir fel lleoliad a dangosydd newidiadau daearyddol eithafol sydd yn cymryd lle o ganlyniad i newid amgylcheddol. Mae’n amcanu fod curadu celf gyfoes yn broses unigryw lle efallai gwnawn ni ddarganfod, dadansoddi, ac ail-ddychmygu’r cwestiynu emosiynol sydd yn amgylchynu’r trawsffurfiad ecolegol a diwylliannol yma.
Download a map to accompany this series of exhibitions here:
Ephemeral Coast: South Wales Exhibition Map - English
