Untitled, 1992
The Serpentine Gallery, London/ Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

Barclays young artist winner 1992

This installation at the Serpentine Gallery was part of the Barclays Young Artist Award in 1992. The castle-like structure incorporated a corrugated galvanised steel outward skin, a material used at border crossings by the British Army from Northern to Southern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1960s to the late 90s. The word "troubles" has been used as a synonym for violent conflict for centuries.

The structure was mounted internally on circular steel motorised tracks enabling full rotation at random intervals during the day. This seemingly static structure would shift, blocking the viewer from accessing parts of the space and at others opening it up again. The unease of the piece with its fortress-like exterior and candy pink, rhombus-entombed building within. The installation shifts the control from the viewer to the artwork in a time when the IRA was bombing the finance district of London.

The work then went on to the Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin later that year.

Essay by John Logan for the Temple Bar Gallery catalogue 1992/

Catalogue Title/ SURVEYING AND CONTAINING

Foreward for catalogue by Ruairi O Cuiv, Director of the Temple Bar Gallery in 1992.

Scale of installation (6m x 5.5m x 3.2m)