New sculpture for refurbished street
HEART SPACE FOR PUBLIC SPACE
THERE has been a great reaction to Breda Marron’s bronze sculpture ‘Heart Space’ which was installed in Dundalk’s St Nicholas Quarter
LAST week.
Townspeople have given the thumbs up to this latest piece of public art in the town centre, which was commissioned by Louth County Counci is part of the EU funded multi-million Euro rejuvenation of Clanbrassil St and the Lower End.
‘When the concept was first conceived in 2018, no one could have predicted the times we now find ourselves in,’ says Breda, who works from her studio in Drogheda. Yet it seems serendipitous that the inspiration for the piece, came from the concept of two beings, showing true love, by holding space for each other, without touching.’
She explains that the striking piece depicts ‘ two abstract swan figures, which from a distance seem to dance as one, yet when you come closer you realise, they are separate individuals, simply in rhythm with each other.’
The essence of the sculpture also links back to the Celtic concept of an ‘Anam Cara’, the Irish phrase for a ‘Soul Friend’.
‘When I first began working on the inspiration for this sculpture, I focused on what I felt the space needed and for me that was a deeper sense of love. The morning after my initial site visit, I woke up with an image in my mind and I had to painted it straight away. At that early stage, the image consisted of two separate wings, with the space between forming a heart. The wings were a green bronze with a polished bronze forming the edge of the heart. As the ideas evolved, the swan imagery became stronger and new connections to the area were formed, but the essence of the original vision remained,” said the artist.
Each swan sculpture has a deep green bronze patina on the outer layer, emphasising that each swan being wrapped in a cloak of love and protection.
An inner section of polished gold captures the sunlight and links to the heart of gold and positive energy shared between the two swans.