Friz SEEK-ing to bring St Brigid to life
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Sligo native Marian Noone, aka Friz, is one of three female artists who will be creating murals in the town centre as part of the SEEK 2020 contemporary urban arts festival.
‘I am so excited to be part of the SEEK festival this year,’ she says. ‘I’ve never been to Dundalk properly so I am very much looking forward to spending some time there. I’m just grateful the team were able to keep the dates flexible due to the pandemic restrictions and that it’s still going ahead. It would have been a shame if it was cancelled completely.’
Having studied classical animation at Ballyfermot College of Further Education, her work is heavily influenced by this and her murals often feature the female form, with a strong illustrative style.
‘I will be creating a mural based on St. Brigid,’ she reveals. ‘I want to explore the dual aspects of the figure, reflecting the Pagan and Christian facets of the woman and the storytelling that revolves around those roles. There are so many elements that could be included but hopefully I’ve found a nice balance.’
This mural will be adjacent to St Nicholas Church, Bridge Street, where there is a statue dedicated to the saint closely associated with Faughart.
Now based in Belfast, Friz is a member of the SPOOM Collective, a group of artists who frequently collaborate on large scale murals. A great deal of her current work is created with spray paint, though in her smaller pieces she prefers to use acrylics or watercolours.
Her paintings have been included in group exhibitions in Belfast, Dublin and Sligo.
Her painting ‘Queen Medb’ was commissioned for exhibition in the Ulster Museum as part of ‘ Tags not Labels’ which ran in conjunction with the V&A ‘Street Art’ exhibition, including artwork by Banksy, D*Face,
Jamie Hewlett and others.
In 2010 Friz was a member of the Dublin team competing in the Secret Wars Euro-League, the world’s premier live art battle involving 17 cities from around Europe. She has been invited as a guest artist to paint at such events as the ‘Festival of Urban Art Sandyford’ in Dublin, ‘Eurocultured’ in Manchester, ‘Smithfield Festival’ in Dublin , ‘Whitewash’ in Portadown, ‘BASE Festival’ in Belfast and ‘N.P.L.D.’ Festival in Sligo
She has been regularly commissioned to create murals in her home town by Sligo Borough Council and the Sligo Tidy Towns Committee.
Friz is very much looking forward to taking part in this year’s SEEK Festival, which is now planned for the first week of August.
Reflecting on the line-up for last year’s festival, which included Aches Dub, who is returning this year, James Earley, Chuala Mente and Dundalk’s OMIN she says there are ‘Some big shoes to fill, what a line-up! I can’t wait to see these walls in person. The work created last year is up there with the best of them.’
While this year’s event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Friz is already used to some of the precautions we are all learning to live with.
‘Well luckily the PPE involved with the job includes face masks, gloves and working remotely, so I think we are well covered in that area!’ she quips.
The organisers are hoping that they will be able to host walking tours again this year, keeping to the limits on gatherings and social distancing.
These tours were hugely popular last year as they gave people the opportunity to see the artists at work and an insight into the subjects they were painting, which were all related to Dundalk’s rich cultural heritage and history.
Once again, the organisers are grateful to their sponsors without whose support the festival wouldn’t take place. These include ColourTrend Paints, Dundalk BIDS, Create Louth, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Creative Ireland, and Thinking Cap Designs.