Fishing Priests, 2024, installation view (video still), Jonathan Sammon
Seanie Barron
For decades, Seanie Barron has carved and shaped wood in a workshop at the rear of his house on Plunkett Road in Askeaton town. His creations, made with simple hand tools and an intuitive approach, are borne out of his understanding of nature and often-humorous interpretations of the environment around him. He roams around Askeaton, looking for the right branch in a field or underneath a bush to then shape into a walking stick. These often take on surreal forms referencing seahorses, weasels, dancers, extraterrestrials, dolphins, foxes or swimmers. Many double as whistles, or incorporate found objects such as coins, bullets or animal bones. Driftwood often found by the Shannon Estuary morphs into film characters, shipwrecks or talismanic sculptures that accompany him inside his studio.
Barron’s art has had a private trajectory, fermenting secretly for many years before being revealed in a flourish. After featuring in his first exhibition a decade ago in the tourist office in Askeaton, his work has been seen in galleries and museums in London, Dublin and Helsinki. Irish daytime radio has proclaimed his art as ‘the next big thing for Irish hipsters once they finish growing their beards.’ Fashion photographers today arrive on his doorstep, making portfolios of images, printed far away in Paris and Barcelona. He often tours around Ireland, enthralling audiences with stories related to his art and life. At a packed village hall on Inishbofin island, he once explained his philosophy on keeping active, claiming that ‘there are two things that can kill you in this life: the electric chair and the armchair!’
Barron literally takes it all in his stride, choosing a new walking stick from his collection each day to go on his evening walk. He shares his vast knowledge of the west Limerick terrain with visiting artists, acquired after a lifetime of roaming around Askeaton, into and through hedges and bushes. Half close your eyes, take a journey with him, walk through arboreal countryside, feel the grain of the timber in your hand, and hold the handle of the stick to the ground that reconnects it back again to its earthiness... it’s the spark that created the universe!
Seanie Barron’s artworks can be seen at Freeney’s Fishing Tackle Shop on High Street, and all walking sticks are for sale.
Freeney’s Fishing Tackle
19 High St, Galway, H91 TD79
Tues-Sat 10-6pm (closed Sun + Mon)
Access:
Not accessible venue
Accessible parking (Middle St)
TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
The Salvage Agency
Curated by Michele Horrigan
1 - 17 November 2024
Galway, Ireland