ARTISTBREDAISALLHEART!
‘I’M thrilled,’ says artist Breda Marron about winning the commission to create a piece of public art which will be a focal point at the new plaza being created as part of the rejuvenation of Clanbrassil Street and St Nicholas Quarter, Dundalk.
Breda, who now lives in Drogheda, grew up in Carrickmacross and is very familiar with Dundalk. Indeed, she completed another major commission close to the where this new sculpture will be located when she was created artwork for the sensory garden in the nearby CBS primary school.
A talented award-winning artist, she works in a variety of media, and for this commission, she has designed a bronze sculpture incorporating the forms of two swans.
Having visited the site before preparing her submission, she was struck by how a glimpse of the mountains can be seen when one looks down Linenhall Street.
This view will be framed by the heart shape formed by the intertwining necks of the swans.
The swans, she explains, ‘pay homage to the two tall buildings, the two churches, that dominate the space at the top of Church Street’.
‘When I viewed the site, one thing that came to me was that the space needed some TLC, and the swans embody that source of love.’
‘ The two churches are places where people have come to for so long to celebrate love in marriages, christening and also the love for someone who has passed away at funerals.’
The sculpture will be cast in bronze, with a green finish on the outside and polished cold on the inside.
With the swans appearing to dance, the design bears Breda’s hallmarks of continuous flow and movement.
‘ The working title of the piece Heartspace,’ she explains.
A graduate of NCAD, Breda has also studied landscape design, something she found particularly useful in preparing her submission for this contest.
The competition attracted a lot of interest, and Breda was one of three artists who were short listed, before finally been selected by the panel of judges.
Birds and their nests are a recurring motif in Breda’s work, and she is perhaps best known for her willow sculptures. is
But she works in a variety of materials, from paint to metal, and had completed a number of public art commissions, including works for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda and Slieve Gullion forest park.
She has exhibited extensively and has taken part in the Sculpture in Context exhibition in the Botanic Gardens and Bloom in the Phoenix Park and her work has been shown in group exhibitions in Oldbridge House and Listoke, Drogheda.
Breda also conducts workshops in drawing, painting and willow sculpture for adults and schools.