In Grace Ascending

Featured in the ‘Plastic House’ by Architecture Republic in 2009 ‘In Grace Ascending’  consists of castings of individual chicks bred as reptile food. Much of Davids casting work is concerned with how animals are grown as commodities. He speaks of how a society is often judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members.

David has just finished a casting workshop in Kildare Library as part of the Bealtaine Festival 2012 and is busy preparing for the Brown Thomas Art & Style exhibition which you must see in Brown Thomas, Grafton street throughout the month of May.

We were intrigued by David’s most recent solo exhibition called “Lost Horizons”.
The focus is on a set of nine, gold toned, archival, salt print photographs depicting the demise of a large flock of Ganet.

Salt I 2012 Archival Salt print.

Salt I 2012 Archival Salt print.

Salt I 2012 Archival Salt print.

These majestic sea-birds normally hunt for food by diving from a great height into deep ocean waters to catch fish, and they normally remain well off-shore. David took these photographs on a remote beach in Donegal initially assuming a human connection to their demise. On this occasion the birds strayed in-shore driven by winter storms, unusually high tides and the attraction of shoals of sprat. Unwittingly betrayed by their environment the entire flock died as they plunged at speed striking ground barely covered by water. The use of salt water in the printing process gives continuity with the sea that sustained the birds in life and caused their death in the end.
You can view the full exhibit and more of David’s work here .

Echoes of Waikiki with less Aloha out of the water.

Freedom of movement for Palestinians living in the Gaza strip has been so restricted in recent years that the territory is commonly referred to as ‘the largest open-air prison on earth’. In a region where the common narrative is conflict and daily life is marked by constant struggle, surfing offers a means of escape.

The sport in Gaza is still in its infancy; from the first surfer in the mid-eighties there are now 23 surfers each with their own  surfboards, and others who borrow boards when they can. Equipment is impossible to find in the Gaza strip so international donors have helped to get boards and wetsuits into the territory (explorecorps.org report that it took over 2 years to clear boards through Tel Aviv into the Gaza Strip).

For now the group is small, but they are some of the very few who get to escape the confinement, and who find a semblance of freedom, every time the waves come.

Mahmoud Alyrashi going left off gaza city.

16 year old Amer Al Dous, paddle out.

The (strip) Search.

We at bluefingers particularly dig this shot. It’s the sense of anticipation in the back of this packed taxi heading for the beach that makes us giddy.

2fingers.

Is this an inadvertent call for peace, a deliberate act of defiance directed at the oppressor or just the natural anatomical contortion of a hand raised in the fine art of balancing oneself? Your shout…

To check out more Andrew McConnell photography go here.

Nine time cliff diving world champion Colombian Orlando Duque travelled to the West Coast of Ireland in 2009 and was impressed to say the least –  “The serpents lair is one of those places that you only hear stories about”, “Finding the place and being able to dive there was one of the highlights of my career. Hopefully in the future we can bring a cliff diving competition to Ireland.”

Rumours of the legendary Serpent’s Lair (Poll na Peist – Worm Hole) on the Aran Islands circulate world wide throughout the cliff diving community. Similar to numerous other locations on the islands, the Serpents Lair is what fishermen call a “blowhole,” or a shoreline window to subterranean caverns, which spurt out water each day as high tide approaches. What differentiates Poll na Peist from other blowholes is that it’s almost a perfect rectangle.

Ancient mythology tells us of a Sea Serpent which lived beneath the entrance . The sound of screeching stormy winds is said in myth to be the great Serpent making its presence felt.

If you have ever been out to Inis Oírr or any of the Aran islands for that matter then the prospect of a weekend long arts festival will seem unmissable to say the least. This event is the brainchild of  Mary Nally.  the craic co-ordinator and founder of the annual Artisit festival, dubbed an antidote to arts festivals which supported and promoted emerging artists in Galway, Dublin and New York from 2006 to 2011.

Drop Everything is a free contemporary cultural event, taking place in the sublime surroundings of Inis Oírr, Co. Galway, in May 2012. Click here to find out more.
Situated on the edge of the Atlantic, Inis Oírr is the smallest of the Aran Islands, it has a rich natural and cultural heritage and the only Arts Centre in the Gaeltacht, Áras Éanna, where the majority of events will happen.

Mary Naly aka Scary Mary (not sure we understand why she gets this name) and Siomha Nee have been working tirelessly for the last six months and have dipped deep into their own (Aran Cardigan) pockets to ensure this event happens.
As the old saying goes, a little help is worth a lot of pity so don’t be shy and head on over to their fundit project page and show your support, drop all your festival plans and support this independently organized one where the usual big sponsors, rist bands, and heavy security will be replaced by unsurpassed natural beauty, a great crew of people in the intimate and unforgettable setting of Inis Oírr.

See you on the ferry

He co-developed the Aqua-Lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française. His legacy includes more than 120 television documentaries, more than 50 books, and an environmental protection foundation with 300,000 members, which is dedicated to the protection and improvement of the quality of life for present and future generations.

Cousteau won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award in 1956 for The Silent World. Still only 1 of 2 documentaries to have ever won it. The Silent World is noted as one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color.

The film was shot aboard the ship Calypso, which was refitted as a mobile laboratory for field research and for diving and filming, a theme which Anderson explored thouroughly in The Life Aquatic (above). Cousteau and his team of divers shot 25 kilometers of film over two years in the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, of which 2.5 kilometers were included in the finished documentary.

It is a beautiful, facinating, funny, and at times gruesome ocean adventure. The film has since faced criticism for environmental damage done during the filmmaking. In one scene, the crew of the Calypso massacre a school of sharks that were drawn to the carcass of a baby whale, which itself had been mortally injured by the crew, albeit accidentally.

In another, Cousteau uses dynamite at a coral reef in order to make a complete census of the marine life in its vicinity.

Cousteau later became more environmentally conscious, and hugely involved in marine conservation, and was even called “the father of the environmental movement” by Ted Turner, Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors.

Watch the full documentary on full screen here.

The self confessed Wexican & Northside Madlad James Kirwan will present his witty take on paradise Ireland as seen on his cap lining live on the glass of the better fashion week shop from 3pm-8pm on the 14th april 2012.

Irish Design shop will host a panel chat with directors of the legendary HANDS documentaries, get up close and personal with some of the designers in the shop and say hi to our James.

Our friend and fellow Wexican David Hawkins will be taking a break from his rehearsals in the National Concert Hall to treat us to some rustic sounds on his very own resonator guitar ‘national’ style, made by the musician himself. Also the fashion man about town Garrett Pitcher of Thread magazine and fashion store and creative agency, Indigo & Cloth on Dublin’s South William Street will be hosting a whisky tasting.

Better Fashion Week is the biggest annual initiative of the not for profit group Re-Dress.
The event is focused on creatively promoting sustainable fashion practices within the Irish fashion industry.

If you have any questions about what to bring or to book your slot to be photographed, email us at more@localwisdom.info

Their dinner was highly concept-driven, they based each course on a time or place in Dublin from the past, present or future offering the diners a unique eating experience, not necessarily a dinner, but something that would excite their minds and taste buds.

To read more about the guys and EDIBLE you can head over here 

Two Californian anthropologists who spent a year living with the travelers on a Dublin site in 1970 return to Ireland to learn what has happened in the intervening years.
This is a great documentary well worth a watch. The key factor the anthropologists have noticed on their return in an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the past in both young and old.

Watch here

From the Made by Hand series, a sweet short following Brooklyn beekeeper Megan Paska.