A Magic Moving Living Thing
Sculptural Installation and series of participatory events. The Butler Gallery Kilkenny, Ireland. 2022
A Magic, Moving, Living Thing was an artist-led project curated by Hollie Kearns aiming to build communities around the River Nore, in kilkenny through collaborative art work and to provide a platform for knowledge exchange between citizens, artists and experts.
The project was developed through site specific research at Evan’s Home, which houses the Butler Gallery. This building shows archaeological traces of the Augustinian Monastery that was built here in 1208. This local research, along with in-depth investigation into the River Nore as a habitat, became the driving forces behind the project.
The project developed to focus on the human and non-human species that make up intertwined communities that live in and around it the river. One such species is a freshwater mussel, called the ‘Margaritifera Durrowvensis’. This unique animal is endemic to the River Nore. It was once abundant in the here but for numerous reasons it is now functionally extinct. This means that although there are still some individuals present in the river, it cannot breed due to the conditions of the river and so when the current mussels die this species is be gone forever.
Through a series of public events and workshops A Magic, Moving, Living Thing brought together local residents, river experts, biologists and interested parties to share their knowledge and hopes for the River Nore as a living entity.
Through a series of onsite workshops, over 300 ceramic mussels were made and installed in the archaeology garden at the Butler Gallery. This installation served to encourage the public to remember the relics of our past while considering what our future heritage might be through our relationship with the river and the story of the Margaritifera Durrowvensis.
Read More about the Project here.
Was a short video about the process from the Butler Gallery here.