Sapiens
23 March – 28 April 2007
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
Currach, 2007, Currach and taxidermied gannet
Currach (Detail), 2007
Currach (Detail), 2007
Sogang shark-caller (ii), 2007, Archival pigment print
Bounce, 2007, Suspended cast bronze football, cord and fixtures
Sapiens, 2007, Cast bronze skulls and antique brass tripod
Forge, 2007, Cast bronze skull and iron anvil
Sapiens (Detail), 2007
Sapiens (Detail), 2007
Right Ball and Left Ball, 2007, Bronze
Girl with Whale Bone, 2007, Archival pigment print
Music Stand, 2007, Metal music stand with taxidermied guillemot
Sapiens – wisdom Homo Sapiens – one who knows
Sapiens at Kerlin Gallery was a result of a trip to New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. There is a rich tradition of shark-calling there where men paddle out alone in narrow outrigger-canoes to hunt for shark to eat. Singing to lure them from the depths, they believe the sharks are led to them by their ancestors. New Ireland is a beautiful and primitive place, where at that time the connection to nature was still balanced.
At the centre of the show Currach hung from the ceiling: a traditional Irish fishing boat fractured bow from stern. Beneath the currach a taxidermied gannet flew as if upside down. A work titled Sapiens stood at one end of the gallery with an adult and baby skull conjoined, cast in bronze and set upon a slender tripod. Photographs surrounded the walls, one of a young girl holding the vertebra of a whale. On the back wall below Currach an elder shark-caller, named Selam Kerasimbe, sang a song to camera. He began to weep but gestured to continue to film. He sang a song that was only ever sung alone in the canoe when a shark is caught and the caller is returning to shore. He wept as he believed that the art of shark-calling was dying.
Special thanks to Selam Kerasimbe and the people of Kontu village, New Ireland, for allowing access to their precious rituals and village life.
List of works (click to expand)
Foxglove (i), 2007, Bronze, 54 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm
Foxglove (ii), 2007, Bronze, 87 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
Foxglove (iii), 2007, Bronze, 87 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm
Sapiens, 2007, Cast bronze skulls and antique brass tripod, 128 cm x 49 cm x 49 cm
Forge, 2007, Cast bronze skull and iron anvil, 46 cm x 65 cm x 28 cm
Bounce, 2007, Suspended cast bronze football, cord and fixtures, 21 cm x 21 cm x 18 cm
Selam shark-caller, 2007, DVD 1 min 40 secs, Dimensions variable
Below, 2007, DVD 9 mins, Dimensions variable
Night Dress, 2004, Archival pigment print, 168 cm x 109 cm
Monger, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Landing, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Girl with Whale Bone, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Dog With Bowl, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Cliff Edge, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Drift Wood, 2007, Archival pigment print, 57.5 x 70.5 cm
Basket, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Whale Graffiti, 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Autopsy, 2007, Archival pigment print, 78 cm x 65 cm
Sogang Shark-caller (i), 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Sogang shark-caller (ii), 2007, Archival pigment print, 77 cm x 65 cm
Antarctica, 2005, Set of nine archival pigment prints, 15 cm x 20 cm per images
Music Stand, 2007, Metal music stand with taxidermied guillemot, 50 cm x 135 cm x 43 cm
Currach, 2007, Currach and taxidermied gannet, 500 cm x 130 cm x 70 cm
Right Ball and Left Ball, 2007 Bronze 34 cm x 20 cm x 19 cm and 37 cm x 19 cm x 17 cm