6 minute audio and video

‘blue bridge behaviour’ – an evolving flash animation

Formal systems created by people for people,
like cities, buildings and traffic lights,
and people contained within systems created by people.

Behaviour expected by people,
learned and modelled, simulated and repeated,
people within people’s formal systems. (In blue)

‘red line – yellow line’ is a part of a visual investigation of accidental compositions produced from sorting random pieces of coloured paper and card, the paper is filmed on the studio floor and the shapes are explored for compositional potential, some moments of footage are kept and sorted into relationships, various modernist motifs are exploited, a library of elements is generated, to be archived or reused

The image arose from my observation of the early evening ritual of the men and women of the Moroccan town of Essaouira, many of whom take a stroll about the battlements of it’s sea wall before nightfall. The men are typically alone, the women in small groups, I thought there was something poetic and melancholy about it. It certainly ads a palpable atmosphere or frisson.

It reminded me very much of Addonia’s book, which is set in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia, a place where contact between men and women outside the home is all but impossible (but especially for the poor), and all public contact between the sexes is controlled by Sharia.

Palette Driven Mobile Aesthetic

This model for a series of sculptural forms inspired by packing palettes, the paintings of Mondrian and the De Stihl art movement, and the current trend for modularity in culture, politics and design was shown in Temple Bar Gallery & Studios as part of ‘The BiG Store’ show curated by Alan Butler and Lola Rayne Booth.

Custom made palettes are stacked or arranged, separated by planes or panels derived from Mondrian’s palette, these can be re-arranged, wall mounted or extented in multiple ways to meet the requirements of the space available.

These pieces continue my fascination with the modernist aesthetic as it re-appears in systems, spaces and forms in our society, and employs the concepts of scalability, and redundancy to reveal the characteristics of current critical dilemmas.

Castle Leap from Niall Flaherty on Vimeo.

Date/Time: Monday, 21 – Sunday, 27 September Monday – Saturday: 12-7pm; Sunday: 12-5pm
Venue: Ranelagh Arts Shop, 26 Ranelagh
Tickets: Free

A busload of artists from Ranelagh, and their friends- painters, photographers, video artists and scribes – descended on Leap Castle in Co. Offaly, home of Tin-Whistle ‘Maestro’ Sean Ryan, his wife Ann Callanan and their daughter (step dancing champion and musician extraordinaire) Ciara Ryan, in July of this year.

The artists photographed, sketched and recorded their memories, lunch was served and strong drink imbibed. Sean and Ciara were joined by their friend, De Dannan’s Alec Finn, stopping in on his way to the Willie Clancy Week in Milltown Malbay and a music session ensued. The resulting exhibition records their impressions of a haunting and magical place.

Artists include Charles Crockatt, Felicity Finlay, Niall Flaherty, Gerhardt Gallagher, Brian Henderson, Eamon Gogarty, Angel Luis Gonzalez Imelda Healy, Kate Horgan, Ann Murphy, Katy Simpson, Darragh Owens, Robin Price, Rory Pierce and Heather Finn.