Tom Ireland

Tom Ireland

Work from Sierra Blanca.

“My more recent practice explores the relationship(s) between modernist art and design practices and the western space programme of the mid/late 20th century as proponents of interrelated aesthetic and ideological values. My practice is becoming increasingly reductive with the bare minimum of intervention in source materials and with greater emphasis placed on slight gestures designed to unlock new meaning and possibilities within the given objects and/or images. A constant theme within my recent practice is an unpicking of specific histories and legacies.

I am interested in objects and images – what they are, the space they fill and their weight – physically, culturally, intellectually and visually, their position within the world and their potential. I am interested in the processes’ that happen when elements meet in a given space or time and the transformative powers acting upon them to reveal new possibilities. By weaving together a combination of sourced objects and appropriated images and/or text(s), my work uses ideas of waste, memory, and wealth to investigate the relationship between information and the audience(s) which receive(s) it. Strong sculptural concerns play a large role in the formation of my works. Larger sculptural pieces are often offset / complemented by a series of inter-related images and/or other sculptural works. Acting as ‘bit players’ (conceivably the sum total of endeavours which underpin the ‘act’), these smaller works are aimed at leading, disrupting and/or shaping narrative, at times evoking humour, ideas of underachievement and ridicule within a complex hierarchical system. Objects and images are placed together and arranged to establish a dialogue between themselves and the viewer. Issues of cultural weight and resonance feature in the individual pieces with the work also displaying a desire to examine institutional mechanics, codes and cultural value systems present when confronting given information. The works aim for an idea of transcendence and aspiration through the use of peripheral contextual information, bestowing significance upon objects, images and other materials.” – Tom Ireland