Venue: The Concourse Space, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown-County County Hall, Dublin, Ireland.

Exhibition Dates: September 7 - 7th October 2000, (Preview Thurs. 7th Sept)

‘The Mirror of the Sea’ is a collaborative installation by two Dun Laoghaire Artists using a variety of media to create a metaphorical seascape.

Project Description:
‘The Mirror of the Sea’ is a collaborative Installation by Anthony Kelly and Jay Roche. The title of the show makes reference to a Joseph Conrad novel. Both artists grew up in the Dun Laoghaire borough and attended the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design (now Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology) where they studied Fine Art, graduating in the early 1990’s. Each artist has exhibited widely since graduating, most recently Anthony Kelly at Arthouse (1999), Pallas Studios, Dublin (1999) and the Darklight/Straylight festival (2000) and Jay Roche with solo shows at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin (1999) and The Fenderesky, Belfast (2000). They have exhibited together in the past, however, this is their first collaboratative project and comes from a response to their shared background.

Although primarily painters, the artists have chosen to create an Installation piece. It is hoped, however, that the sensibility of the painter remains with an emphasis on light and drawing being important components and the use of water as a ‘medium’. Also a link with painters of the sea has been an important point of reference with particular focus on the works of artists like Turner and Gericault. The fragility of existence suggested in the work of these artists forms a link with this Installation piece. ‘The Mirror of the Sea’ attempts to find a contemporary form for the qualities found in this landscape tradition.