Sanctuary by Nickie Hayden

Sanctuary

"My work brings together various elements within an exhibition space, creating a linked series of works using different media that invites the audience to interact and respond on an emotional level. I often invite other artists to respond and contribute elements to the exhibition that will further develop the narrative.

This exhibition and installation is a response to a poem written by the American poet Peter Money, who was taught by Allen Ginsberg. I was introduced to Money while working towards a previous exhibition that was run in the James Joyce Centre. In Peter Money’s work, I found an echo of something that I was very familiar with. The poem I am responding to is called ‘To The Lady in Pink Standing On Top The Bridge’. This poem describes a girl wearing a pink dress on Brooklyn Bridge. It looks as though she may jump from the bridge, and there is a person in a taxi watching this unfold. It is up to the reader to decide whether the girl decides to jump or not, and this forms the basis of the idea for my exhibition. In my interpretation she does not jump, and so the pink dress represents her sanctuary. It is this sanctuary, nourishment and inner strength that I have represented in this new body of work.

There are several elements to this project. I have made a pink tent to echo the girl’s pink dress. The tent shape is geometric and strong, representing a safer and sturdier place for inner strength to evolve. The tent walls are made from Perspex filled with pink sea salt crystals, allowing the light to filter through. Crystals are known to represent grounding and strength and have a magical feel about them. I have attached collected poems within the tent on translucent paper that are in turn effected by the light. My aim is for this to feel incredibly peaceful to the audience.

Poets Theo Dorgan, Rachael Hegarty, Catherine Ann Cullen and Paula Meehan have contributed poems for this that connect with the idea of sanctuary, and I have worked with the Saol Project, a woman’s group in Dublin’s inner city, and they have written and contributed Haiku to the project.

Another part of the project is a Haiku wheel, an element that I have previously used in other projects. I have enlisted the help of Haiku expert Toyomi Iwawaki-Riebel, a lecturer of Japanese Studies at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg. She has collected Haiku from poets and philosophers from all over the world. These collected Haiku have also been inspired by Money’s poem and they introduce a different perspective to the project."
Nickie Hayden

Hayden has been a practicing artist for over 30 years. She was a director in the Black Church Print Studio and Graphic Print Studio Dublin. She was also on the steering committee of two major exhibitions, ‘Revelations’ in the National Gallery, and ‘Artist Proof’ in the Chester Beatty Library. Hayden’s materials are intrinsic to her practice. She works in oil and acrylic painting, sculpture, mixed media and installation. Some of her work has been highly interactive.

Some of the artist's work has been highly interactive. Hayden has worked with community and literacy groups, such as the SAOL Project and Career Paths for Adult Dyslexics, in various exhibitions. Hayden’s most recent exhibition was the ‘Ulysses Haiku Project’ in The James Joyce Centre. She invited a number of poets including Theo Dorgan, Paula Meehan, Patricia Ross, Rachel Hegarty and Stephen Fry to write Ulysses related Haiku. Hayden’s goal is to make art inclusive. She believes that art reaches the parts of us that are most sensitive- It can allow deep connections with the inner self and with those that we share the artistic exploration with.

Her work is in many collections here in Ireland and abroad. Permanent collections include:
The National Gallery of Ireland, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Irish Bank, Allied Irish Banks, Office of Public Works, Halford and Hutchinson Films, Informix Software, Intel Ireland Ltd, Mespil Hotel, The Rochestown Lodge, Tara Investment Ltd, Lorcan Lyons Associates, Citibank, Enterprise Trade, Cantrell and Crowley Architects, Robinson-O’Keefe-Devane Architects, St. Mary’s College Rathmines, Enterprise Ireland (Dublin, Zurich, Stokholm, Boston and Dusseldorf), The Ark, Dubln.

Other exhibitions by Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

Memento, Looking back, Looking forward

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Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

Interlocked, Annika Berglund's solo show at Olivier Cornet Gallery

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Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

FIELD OF VISION, botanical treasures in focus, a solo show by YANNY PETTERS

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Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

ALTER / ALTAR by Aisling Conroy

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Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.

Less Jam, More Havoc, an exhibition by Kelly Ratchford and Jaki Coffey

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