WILHELMA the tortoise has just crawled, with vast relief, on to dry land after 40 days and nights of incarceration on choppy seas in the Ark. Carved in wood and large enough for a child to sit on, she is the creation of sculptor Imogen Stuart, part of a special new exhibition at the Ark called Two by Two. Imogen and nine other artists including John Kindness, David Best and Aileen MacKeogh, were commissioned to make arks in a variety of materials, exploring a choice of themes such as the ark as spiritual icon, or a container of precious objects, or simply a toy.
The variety of arks is remarkable. Husband and wife team Imelda Peppard and Cillian Rogers has made a distinctive sculpture, where the ark is perched on a Himalayan peak beneath which, on the backwash of receding tidal wave, lurks an enormous friendly green and yellow fish. Made with rod iron fabric and paper mache, the piece was inspired by the Indian myth of Manu and Matsya, said to be a precursor of the biblical Ark story.
Taking an ecological approach, Una Keeley has created an Ark of the Covenant which contains bottles of clean air, water, earth and seeds, to be used in case of an apocalypse Brian Buckley's clever Egyptian ark involves a disappearing camel, and Catherine Mulvihill has created a colourful inside out ark".
The exhibition also includes pairs of invented animals. These fantastic beasts, birds and lizards have come to Earth seeking shelter as their own planet Thrae is under threat. They have been created by the children of St Patrick's National School in Curtlestown, Enniskerry, under the guidance of artist Liz McMahon.
TWO by Two opens on Tuesday (May 14th) for 40 days (and 40 nights).
Like the Ark's previous exhibitions, it is designed to operate as the starting point for interactive visits from schoolchildren (in this case, those aged 7-10, or from 2nd to 4th class). The children will be invited to help artist in residence Genevieve Murphy make pairs of large scale animals. They will also learn all about the work involved in putting sculpture together, examining the plans and model arks made by the artists.
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