Bentley Villas Per Cent Scheme
A new work by sculptor Sandra Bell has been installed at Bentley Villas, a residential unit for crisis homelessness at the junction of Clarence Street & Georges Place in Dún Laoghaire.
This new residential unit provides thirteen apartments and ancillary accommodation for the homeless and is operated by Crosscare. The ground floor accommodates a Day Care Centre with small lounge and dining area and rooms for rough sleeping. The site is on a prominent corner in central Dún Laoghaire and consists of a five-storey structure finished in a mixture of white rendered walls and pre-patinated copper cladding. The building was designed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Senior Architect, Eugene Gribbon.
Sandra Bell was awarded the commission through an open submission competition selection process. She has created a striking life-sized figure ‘The Gift’ in cast bronze, with green pattination and highlighted polished areas. It depicts a curved abstract figure holding a bowl, which incorporates a water feature. According to the artist “the work was created with Maggie Maloney, the owner of the original site where the building stands, as the inspiration. Maggie, who was a fishmonger all her life, bequeathed her house to the County Council. The sculptural figure is adorned with fish scales and waves and the bowl is overflowing with water, representing the bounty this state of the art building offers its new tenants.”
Sandra was educated in Newry, Dundalk and at Glengara Park, Co. Dublin. She is a self-taught sculptor using the "Lost Wax Method" for bronze casting. There are many different influences in her sculpture - Celtic, Classical, African and yet all her pieces have a uniqueness. Her work is based on the human form, abstracting it to eliminate detail so that only the essential essence of the figure remains. Sandra has exhibited widely in Ireland and abroad and her work is included in numerous public and private collections.
