STUDIO AIDEEN BARRY

A Public Art Commission for Gael Scoil Lois na nOg

A Per Cent for art Commission commissioned by the Irish Government, Department of Education and Skills to celebrate the refurbishment of Padraig Pearse's Gael Scoil Lois na nÓg in Ranelagh in Dublin in 2009.

The Public Art work “Ludique” is sited in the Historical Georgian building which is home to Gaelscoil Lios na nÓg is based in Cullenswood House in Ranelagh, where Pádraig Pearse first established the first Irish Speaking school before moving to St.Enda's in Rathfarnham. The building itself is a stunning piece of Georgian architecture married with contemporary architectural extensions which received commendation from the RIAI architectural awards.

The word Ludique comes from the French word Ludo,meaning “to play”. Ludique has no direct translation in Irish or English but references a state of mind, a period of daydream where the imagination is at play.  For this public art project, the artist proposed to create little interventions in a working space that would allow imagination to interact with the everyday. These interventions manifest themselves as “Clocks” or

dioramas where actions or happenings undertake during certain points of the day.

The school operates under a series of hidden systems that were adopted by the school community during the natural course of the school’s timetable. These systems had to be put in place due to the compact nature and concentration of space in the

school. At no particular point of the day is the whole school population in any one place of the building. Lunch times, library times, access to the Halla Rince ( dance hall) are all negotiate through a tight management of time-tabling, in order to utilise the resources of the school. Each class has a different lunch time, and the school operates like a well oiled machine in order tomeet pupil centric educational, physical, virtual and social needs.

The artist  Aideen Barry, responded to these practical notions of systems by contriving a series of mechanical and clockwork artworks that “play” out an action at various points of the day. The artist aimed to marry the practical with the imaginative in a wunderkrammer of objects and instruments, that come to life at key points of the day. Barry sites the importance of day dream as necessary indulgence for a child, and for the formation of thought, ideas and independent creativity. Fostering this idea as a particular need in schooling philosophy.

Barry also sites her exposure to Eastern European film makers and animation artists during her own childhood in the 1980’s for the inspiration for some of the juxtapositions of the clockwork scenarios. During the 1980‘s RTE would play a number of this works at prime time slots in the evening. The artist has stated that the exposure to such imagination had a profound impact on her visual language and interest in phenomenology. In particular the work of Jan Svankmajer.  Films including the deeply imaginative and sometimes disturbing film works

such as Alice (1983) Darkness/ Light/Darkness (1986) and Food (1987).

There are 5 Kinetic Sculptural works in the “Ludique” project.

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As Gaeilge:

Is ón fhocal Fraincise, ludo, a chiallaíonn 'ag súgradh' a thagann Ludique agus níl aistriúchán go Gaeilge ná go Béarla air.  Is tagairt atá ann do staid intinne, tréimhse thiabhreamh na súl oscailte nuair a bhíonn an tsamhlaíocht ag súgradh. Is mian liom don tionscnamh poiblí ealaíne seo inchuir bheaga a chruthú i spás a cheadódh don tsamhlaíoch idirghníomhú le gnáthimeachtaí.  Nochtann na hidirghníomhacha seo mar 'chloig' nó dioramaí san áit a mbíonn gníomhacha i scuaine agus seoltar iad ag amanna áirithe sa lá.

Tar éis dom cuairt a thabhairt ar Gaelscoil Lios na nÓg i Raghnallach thuig mé go mbeadh ar an scoil cóiriú a dhéanamh ar shraith chóras le linn an ghnáthlá scoile. Thuig mé ach go háirithe nach bhféadfadh le clós na scoile glacadh le níos mó ná rang nó dhó daltaí ag aon am ar leith. Ag labhairt le múinteoir dom mhínigh sí go mbeadh amchlár le leagan amach don chlós, don halla, don leabharlann agus ar uile le go mbeadh fáil ag ranganna ar leith orthu.  Tá sé rí-shuimiúil de bharr na scoile a bheith ag feidhmiú faoin chlárama nua go mbeidh tréimhsí éagsúla sosa ag gach seomra ranga; amanna éagsúla ranganna ealaíne, seisiúin dhifriúla damhsa gaelach do gach seomra ranga eile.

Agus mé díreach filleadh ó chónathacht i mBremen na Gearmáine tá tionchar imeartha orm ag an tréimhse a chaith mé sa chathair Ghearmámach. Bíonn taispeántas an-chasta mealltach i bhfoirm Chloig ag a trí a chlog iarnóin gach lá i ngnócheantar Bhremen. Bíonn an Clog ag súgradh ar feadh tuairim agus deich mbomaite áit a mbíonn sraitheanna de phainéil ag bogadh agus 'drámaí' amrianaithe cóirithe go meicniúil os somhair lucht féachana a bhíonn meallta.

Mar pháiste bhí sé d'ádh orm gur bhlas mé de roinnt scannán beoite a chraol RTÉ i lár na 1980í. B'as oirthear na hEorpa do na scannáin seo de ghnáth agus bhí cóiriú as cuimse samhlaíoch iontu. Go háirithe an bheochan i scannáin Jan Svankmajer agus na scannáín domhainshamhlaíocha agus shuaiteacha mar Alice(1983), Darkness/Light/Darkness (1986) agus Food (1987) aige.  Go dtí an lá inniu tá lorg fágtha ag scannáin Svankmajer ar mo chuid oibre sna scannáin bheochana, líníochtaí agus san ábhar snoíodóireachta.  Le blianta beaga anuas tá roinnt scannán beoite agus fiseáin suiteálacha gearrlúbacha déanta agam. Don tionscnamh áirithe seo smaoinigh mé ar an sli a thiocfadh liom beatha a thabhairt do nithe beoite i 'dtarlúint'mheicniúil a bhí cóirithe go cúramach agus a thitfeadh amach ag amanna áirithe i rith an lá scoile ag an am céanna agus a mbeadh rabhadh á thabhairt do rang faoina 'gcuid ama' do lón/do dhamhsa/do cheol/ don eolaíocht /don leabharlann agus ar uile.