~~ art websiteart
~ art websiteArtwork by Lorraine Whelan & James Hayes
~ art website
art logo created by James Hayes

A virtual cornucopia of art images and multimedia art experiences by visual artists James Hayes & Lorraine Whelan in an online gallery format.

Below are links to the newest artwork available to view in our online art gallery website, highlighting artwork from various exhibitions & commissions, as well as links to our other online art work to the left. These show artwork from artist James Hayes' eclectic approach to sculpture, bronze casting, and installation art. There are also many examples of artist Lorraine Whelan's artwork, featuring paintings, drawings, and many other art works since 1989.

Chinese New Year 2012
Chinese New Year 2012 by James Hayes **NEW** James Hayes has created a digital image to celebrate Chinese New Year 2012 - the year of the Dragon! Enjoy!.

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Phantom Gallery by Lorraine Whelan
Phantom Gallery installation by Lorraine Whelan **NEW** Lorraine Whelan created an installation illustrating her ongoing work in her studio for the Phantom Gallery Exhibition 2011 organized by Bray Arts.

Europol Collection
Lorraine Whelan - work on paper in the collection of Europol Artwork by Lorraine Whelan has been selected for the collection of Europol, for its new offices in The Hague.

Google Maps of Artwork
Maps of artwork by James Hayes James Hayes has created Google Maps to track his public artwork. Check it out, there might be one near you!
This website was last updated January 19th, 2012.
Designed & maintained by James Hayes.
Unless otherwise stated, all photos by James Hayes
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LORRAINE WHELAN : BACKGROUND
Artist Lorraine Whelan

I was born in Toronto, Canada, of Irish immigrant parents, something which has a great influence on both my life and work as I am fascinated with my heritage. In 1988, several years after my university graduation (York University, Toronto), I decided to move to Ireland, where half my family currently live.

For over 20 years, I have tended to create "bodies" of work starting with a large group of emotional, figurative works on paper which comprised my first solo exhibition in Dublin in 1989. The study of dreams played a large part in my earlier work, and many works developed from the use of dream imagery. My next solo exhibition, My Tower of Strength, consisted of a series of paintings and drawings which were physically based on the architecture of stone building ruins (common throughout Ireland), yet, through style and colour, sought to express something more than the "actual".

For some time now, I have become increasingly aware that my work is inspired by changes in my environment and circumstance, and I am happiest with my work when it is challenged by such changes. For instance, my involvement with the Art & Industry Placement Programme in 1995, led to the development of a new way for me to look at art and materials: in this program I became involved with the workers in a sterile, pharmaceutical factory and sought to explore the humanity within this environment. In addition, I personally realised the validity of a temporary approach to artmaking. The resulting exhibition, Hand in Hand, was created on material familiar to the factory workers (enamel on plastic sheeting), the imagery was based directly on the workers, and the exhibition was hung in the staff canteen for the enjoyment of all the staff. While I do not believe this is the only way to work, the entire experience was extremely satisfying and had an important effect on my methods of working and outlook on creation. Immediately following the end of this project, I began working on a double installation, Pastures Green and Dreaming for Dad, an exhibition which consisted of tiny, elegant paintings on hand made paper and large, expressive paintings on domestic net curtains.

Since then, I have worked on other projects in response to a specific brief, site, concept, or combination of these. While I have found that my artistic life functions well when pushed outside the almost monastic studio mould, I do consider myself primarily a painter. In 1997 I began work on sketches and drawings for a series of paintings on canvas based on flowers. Initially, the sketches were made as research for a temporary commission in Dublin, using materials such as acetate and transparent adhesive coloured film. As a temporary body of work, the flowers were to be colourful and stylised, appropriate to the chosen media and site. As paintings on canvas, my concerns were to express a joy and richness appropriate to the subject. The resulting body of work, Blessings, was exhibited in Bray and in Ballyjamesduff in 1999 and 2000 respectively. With the birth of my daughter in 2002 the desire for the expression of joy in my work is paramount. During the first few years of motherhood, I created a series of mixed media works on paper and canvas to celebrate my daughter's life. This work, For Elise, was exhibited in August 2005 at the Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely in a joint exhibition with sculptor James Hayes (my husband and father to Elise).

In May 2009 I began Placement©, an ongoing temporary project, in which I print out images of artwork from my 20+ years oeuvre onto standard mailing labels and then put them in various locations over the course of at least two years. The project allows me freedom to experiment and to take a number of issues into consideration, such as scale, site, context, disposability, and collaboration/participation.

In 2010 I completed the painting series Homebody Child, which explored the themes of motherhood, childhood and domesticity. I have recently begun a new body of work, which I have tentatively entitled "Generations". Using images that are specific to my life and family history, this work further expresses generic/universal themes as I explore issues of Memory and Family and Time.

I also write critical reviews for art magazines. CIRCA is the main visual arts magazine in Ireland, and two of my reviews appear in the online version of the magazine, RECIRCA: Chris Cunningham at Guinness 5th and Reiltin Murphy at Signal Arts Centre.


JAMES HAYES : BACKGROUND
Artist James HayesI was born in the USA, raised in Ottawa & Toronto, Canada where I attended CTS for a 3 year Fine Art Diploma. I completed my Fine Art Degree at Dun Laoghaire Institute in 2002, and in 2004 I completed a Master of Science Degree in Multimedia Systems at Trinity College Dublin.

In my sculptural work I use objects, images, colours, and materials that I consider both simple and iconic, and I combine them to suggest ideas, personal histories, emotions, memories and dreams. My approach to my artwork is diverse, unique, and appropriate to the circumstances.

My recent artworks focus on my very new experiences as a father, standing in the reflected light of the classic mother and child. These figurative bronze & ceramic sculptures were exhibited as part of the "For Elise" exhibition with artist Lorraine Whelan.

I experiment with photography, printing images onto various materials (most notably glass, metal and painted surfaces) and incorporating them into a sculptural context. I enjoy the craft of woodworking and in "Tables/Tableaux" I used traditional lathe-work and carpentry.

I have been involved in a number of projects which are experimental in nature and direction, thus freeing me from the usual studio approach to art making. The Emo Court Artists Symposium 2005 gave me the opportunity to create an immense land art work "Evidence". This was a fantastic opportunity for me, as how often do you get a chance to recreate such a large area into a piece of artwork?

Both the "Home" exhibition and the "Temple Bar Street Art Symposium" were projects geared directly towards raising awareness of the issues of life in and on the streets.

The "Umha Aois" projects, five of which I have helped to organise & run, are bronze casting symposia with the purpose of rediscovering ancient casting technologies and as such are very experimental in approach. As an active member of the Umha Aois Organising Committee I was committed to building on the successes of this experimental approach and to empowering my fellow artists through the experiences of the symposia. I still manage the Umha Aois website, as well as participating on the ongoing projects as an artist and technician.

Recently I began experimenting with using video in my sculptural and installation work. I have also begun to use the techniques discovered through the Umha Aois symposia to create components of my artwork, and am pleased with the results.

In 2005 I completed my first large scale commission, a fountain entitled "Ball!", for Jim Hayes in Iowa City. This consisted of 3 bronze figures and a bronze ball, arranged in a circular fountain.

I have also had several opportunities to create truly large scale work. At the "Emo Court Artsts Symposium 2005" I created an image of my fingerprint measuring 120 metres by 80 meters by burning the image into a harvested field. At the 2006 "Sculpture in Context" exhibiton at the National Botanic Gardens Dublin, I created another large scale image of my fingerprint. I used decorative white gravel on dark soil, along a riverbank measuring 35 meters by 5 meters.

In 2007 I was commissioned to create a large public artwork for a new Garda Station in Oranmore, Co. Galway. This large artwork "Evidence 2007" was inspired by Evidence 2005 created at Emo Court, and played on notions of justice associated with the work of the Garda Siochana.

During 2007 and 2008 I worked on a collaborative artwork with fellow artist Niall O'Neill. This public artwork "Horseplay" was created using techniques Niall & I have researched through the Umha Aois Experimental Bronze Casting Project. The whole community was involved through bronze casting demonstrations we presented at the Aughrim National School. The artwork was made up of over 200 horses designed by the students of the school, cast and welded together by myself & Niall into the form of a stylised rocking horse, which the children of the school can play on and interact with daily.

Also during 2008 I was commissioned to produce commemorative plaques for the 150th anniversary of Charles Barrington being the first person to climb the Eiger Peak in Switzerland. Two plaques were erected in Switzerland - at Grindelwald and partway up the Eiger - and one plaque was erected in Barrington's home town of Bray, Co Wicklow in Ireland.

In 2009 I completed a public art commission for the new Department of Revenue Decentralised Offices in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick. Tendril is a large artwork made up of 10 laser cut stainless steel panels.

In September 2010 I installed a large commission for the Athlone Institute of Technology. Sierpinski's Growth is a much larger and permanent reworking of the sculpture I did for the 2007 Sculpture in Context Exhibition.

In April 2011 I installed a large outdoor wall mounted sculpture at the new Library & Arthouse Studios in Stradbally. Growth is a large, fractal inspired artwork made up of 20 laser cut stainless steel components.

During October and November 2011 I installed a large concrete and stainless steel sculpture Menger Pyramid Coláiste Choilm (a boys secondary school), Tullamore. I am putting together a time lapse video of the installation, as it took over a month to slot this large puzzle together!

I am currently working on a further commission to be completed before the end of 2011 for Kerry County Council.
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