"The
majority of my artwork is object based sculpture. I like to combine
household objects with romantic images to suggest personal histories
and memories. I have also been involved in several art symposiums
which have freed me from the traditional studio approach to art making.
My most recent artwork ranges between small scale traditional figurative work and large scale land art. The small scale figurative artwork is an experimental approach to ceramic work
& bronze casting figurative work, with a distinctly ancient feel. I have also begun casting purely bronze pieces, contrasting polish, patina and texture. "
Sierpinski's Growth Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens Sept / Oct 2007
Evidence 2007 Percent for Art Commission, Oranmore Garda Station, 2007.
Evidence 2006 Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens Sept / Oct 2006
Tullamore Courthouse Proposal Per Cent for Art Competition March 2006
Evidence 2005
Emo Court Symposium Sept / Oct 2005
For Elise An Exhibition with Lorraine Whelan
Ball! Commissioned Fountain
Paternity Suite 2 Continuing from the Paternity Suite
Paternity Suite 1 Degree Exhibition,
D.L.I.A.D.T.
Tables / Tableaux The Basement Gallery,
Signal Arts Centre
Nesting Chairs Temple Bar Street Art Symposium
Home Exhibition Project Arts Centre
Proof(1) Gallery 44, Toronto
Umha Aois Experimental Bronze Casting Symposium
Artist’s Statement
In his artistic career James Hayes has exhibited solo ('98 & '99, in Dundalk & Bray) as well as in prestigious group exhibitions and events. James participated in the Emo Court Artists Symposium 2005, the 1997 Temple Bar Street Art Symposium, the 1996 Kilkenny Arts Week, the "Home" show at the Project Arts Centre in 1995, and in the 1994 "Proof(1)" exhibition at Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto, Canada. James has also organised five experimental bronze casting symposia (Umha Aois '03, '02, '01, '99 & '97).
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. Some of my recent works focus on my very new experiences as a father, standing in the reflected light of the classic mother and child.
I have experimented 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. 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, 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 am committed to building on the successes of this experimental approach and to empowering my fellow artists through the experiences of the symposia.
More recently I am 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.
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.
Overall, I would say my approaches to artwork are diverse.