The Yellow Line

Our landscapes, coastlines, rivers and cities are constantly evolving. Tides rise and fall, coastlines are redrawn, rivers change course, buildings rise and cities expand. Climate and weather help shape our environment but whether we like it or not human intervention is at the core of many changes. 

This work examines these changes and the relationship between our natural and built environments. It draws on my interest in water and our oceans, and our evolving towns and cities. Eighteenth century maps, sea level projections, flood risk assessments, tourism statistics, found objects and experiential walks are all utilised in a multidisciplinary approach exploring drawing, painting, video and photography.Walking through Dublin city provides the motivation to document a changing city, a city literally under construction and reaching new highs with new hotels and office blocks dominating the skyline.

Layered paintings create a sense of the passing of time and the transition the city is undergoing. Historic Dublin, its rivers and old thoroughfares are hidden behind new developments, mirroring the new experiential reality of the city. Through video, a visitor documents a journey through this new urban reality, a seemingly impressive glassy landscape built to satisfy all their needs. New hotels, restaurants and shops usurp the status quo while rivers, green space and historic buildings fade into the background. A spectacular journey through a forward and expanding city is certainly worth writing home about, right?