Sounds, Magic, Colours and Laughter

Sounds, Magic, Colours and Laughter exhibition at Ardgillan Castle

Exhibition by the pupils of Skerries Educate Together National School

25.05.23 – 11.06.23

This work is important.
It is at home in this space.
It is artistic expression at its most pure.

 

“Art does not reproduce what we see. It makes us see” – Paul Klee

The world around us, and how we experience it, is built on experience and memory. Places and objects become personal things. Our perception of them constantly changes and adapts.

Children see things differently. They are not tied to the past and their imaginations are not restricted by the mundane or the ‘grown-up’. Children view their world with a playfulness and delight that holds such value. They are artists by default. Their art is one that is rich in honesty, innovation and ideas. It is a currency that should be cherished, and we are lucky to have it.

In this exhibition, the pupils of Skerries Educate Together have shared their view of the world with us, the viewer. In this world, Skerries becomes something dreamlike. It is transformed by sounds and magic, colours and laughter.

 

A sound art piece was created by a group of pupils and teacher/artist David O’Neill for the exhibition and can be listened to here: https://on.soundcloud.com/BXZB1mnSiCkfoLHt5 Sound and experience. Home and the music of it. How can we explore the sound of a place? Can it be recreated? Shared?

As people, our sensory experiences weave and meld to create a tapestry that is individual to ourselves. It comes from the world around us but it is our own. In a school, these sounds are amplified further – they become happier, joyful, more urgent. Skerries, along with the broader concept of home, is a place rich with music and sound. Its thread is strong.

As a group, the children explored sounds that resonated with them. We spoke about water, and birds, and laughter, and rain, and ice cream. It is all here, in this piece. They created music with the instruments that brought them most joy. These artists used experience and instinct to share the sounds of Skerries.

 

  • Kevin Brophy
  • Jack Donnelly
  • Caleb Halpin
  • Evan McGovern
  • Alex Deegan
  • Kyle O’Connor
  • Sean Grogan
  • Sam Coleman
  • Czarek Czachorowski
  • Leon Dillon Scully