Andrew Dodds - Wunderkammer
Andrew Dodds, 'Wunderkammer'
25 July - 2 August, 2009
Airfield, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, Dublin 14
Andrew Dodds has a particular interest in how we culturally produce and represent our ideas about 'nature'. For his new commission at Airfield he has developed a kind of Cabinet of Curiosities to house selected artefacts from Airfield's archive and grounds. Within the space of a 'social sculpture' the artist has created a place that lies somewhere between the past and an imaginary, yet realisable future. Continuing his interest in non-specific disasters wrought upon civilisation Dodds has constructed a raft - drawing visual and contextual influence from Gericault's 'The Raft of the Medusa' (1819) - its design seemingly plucked from our collective imagination. Mixing fact andfiction the space is part sci-fi tale, part time-capsule.
The Wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosities, came to prominence in the sixteenth century partly as a means of display for objects gathered by wealthy individuals whilst travelling abroad. Pre-dating the Enlightenment when specialist disciplines and systems of classifying the 'natural world' were just emerging, the objects in a Wunderkammer were presented with little distinction between natural and cultural artefacts. The presentation and contents of the cabinets would often reveal as much about the collector as they did about the places visited. Crucially, the cabinets and their contents became talking points, more the focus of the social connections between people than the associations between things.
Andrew Dodds is a Belfast-born artist, now based in London. His practice is concerned with uncovering the social and political resonances often hidden within landscape representation and production. His artwork is context-specific - made for a particular place or time - and incorporates a range of artistic methods and materials including installation, sound, video, publication, relational strategies and talking birds. His work is shown extensively at major public galleries, artist-run spaces and non-gallery sites. www.andrewdodds.com
Airfield is a farm and gardens situated on a 35 acre estate in Dundrum. It was the former summer retreat and eventual home of the Overends, a wealthy solicitor's family from Dublin. Airfield supports artists who work in the context of the natural world by presenting new work and offering a forum for learning, debate and the exchange of ideas. It endeavours to provide opportunities for the whole community to connect with and learn about the natural world. Its activities encompass a sense of play and discovery in keeping with Airfield's ethos and uniqueness. www.airfield.ie
Andrew Dodds, Wunderkammer - Leaflet (PDF
File - 151kb)
dlr Arts
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is committed to high quality arts and cultural programming and since 1994 has commissioned an exciting range of festivals, exhibitions, performances and initiatives including the Festival of World Cultures, dlr Poetry Now Festival, Visual Art Exhibitions and Installations, Artists in Residence, Education and Outreach Projects, Public Art Projects and County House Concerts.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council believes in the value of the
Arts and the distinctive contribution they make to the quality of life of
the county and its citizens.
This arts residency is an annual partnership project, commissioned by Airfield
and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office.
www.dlrcoco.ie/arts
End
For further information or images contact:
Kenneth Redmond, dlr Arts Officer on
01 2719508/ 087 9807602 or email kredmond@dlrcoco.ie
