It’s been a very long while since I’ve posted in the 3, 3 and 3 series, which turns the spotlight on creative people I know, but I’m pleased to break the drought now by introducing Patrick Corcoran.
Patrick is a mixed-media artist from Limerick, Ireland, whose practice includes sculpture, installation, photography, print, drawing, film and the written word. He has exhibited work throughout Ireland, and also in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Hungary, China and Brazil.
We met at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in County Monaghan, where we were both residents, and became friends over many cups of tea, far too many scones, and a mutual interest in film and photography. Patrick’s wide knowledge of both artforms cast mine well and truly in the shade, but I can assure you that I held my own with the scones!
Since then, I’ve seen his interests range widely in many directions—the art to be found in ordinary objects, the traces of themselves that people leave behind in lost and discarded items, haunted places…You’ll catch a hint of this in his answers below.
Patrick’s current exhibition, Phobos & Deimos, runs until 24 March at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar. The following two images are from the exhibition:
Over to Patrick…
3 things I love about what I do
1 My work allows me to delve into and explore topics which I normally would not.
2 It gives me the choice (and excuse) to work in on a variety of projects simultaneously.
3 My art allows me to experiment with different media to get the desired results and to learn new techniques, software packages and equipment.
3 places I’d like to visit
1 Gobekli Tepe, south-western Turkey
First discovered in 1995, it has been dated to 9,600 BC. I love researching archaeological sites of any age, especially ones like this. More than 11,000 years ago, people were choosing particular rocks to cut and what sculptural reliefs to carve and how to assemble them into structures and places of worship.
2 Puma Punku, Bolivia
The stone carving at this site is some of the most impressive I have come across. It almost looks like it was machine made, or came off an industrial assembly line, especially the interlocking ‘H’ shaped blocks. The stone workers were so talented to have created and carved these blocks. Thousands of years later, we can still admire their skill and design. I would love to visit this site and do work based on it, and I plan to apply for a travel award in the near future.
3 Baalbek, Beqaa Valley, Lebanon
This ancient site comprises the two-thousand-year-old Roman temple to Jupiter. In the base of these ruins lie three hewn stones known together as the ‘trilithon’, each estimated to weigh more than 750 tons. In a nearby a quarry lies one of the largest stones ever carved, the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, weighing an estimated 1,200 tons. Again, I am amazed at the level of skill and ingenuity these ancient builders and masons had.
3 favourite artists
1 Max Ernst
I have a huge interest in dreams, dream diaries and the unconscious. I didn’t really discover Ernst until after I left college, and over the years I have grown to greatly admire his variety of styles, techniques and materials.
2 Ansflem Kiefer
I did my fine art degree in sculpture, and Kiefer’s paintings and use of materials for his sculptural and installation pieces had a strong influence on my own work. I find his work very earthy, and I keep an eye on his art and exhibitions. I would like to return to my roots, as it were, at some stage in the future and get back into making 3-D and sculptural work.
3 David Lynch
I am currently watching the new Twin Peaks series and am thoroughly enjoying it. I watched the first two seasons when I was in secondary school and have been a huge fan of Lynch’s work since then, whether it be his films, art or music.
Contact Patrick via his website
Other links:
Publications: The roads have got deadly; Nocturnes; Phobos & Deimos
Short film: 4DTI
looking up/looking down 