Opening Reception: 2-4pm Saturday 22 February

All are welcome to join us for the opening of this exhibition of new works by artist Judy Carroll Deeley, a series that continues her exploration of post-extractive landscapes and the legacy of industrial activity on the land.

Through her oil paintings and drawings, Carroll Deeley explores the juxtaposition of the historical, religious, and industrial heritage of the Glendalough and Glendasan valleys, painting what she terms ‘popular scenes’, where the evidence of the area’s mining past coexists with our preconception of Wild Wicklow.

A life-long visitor to the area, Deeley explains, “I feel as if I’ve had a long relationship with Glendalough and Glendasan right back to childhood. This relationship was characterised by viewing Glendalough through a veil of spirituality and mysticism. For years in primary school, we were told stories about St. Kevin, how blessed he was and how, as a hermit he lived in a cave above the upper lake before founding a monastery on the site in the sixth century and gathering a community of monks about him. Here a fruitful religious community thrived for hundreds of years.”

Yet this is not the history these paintings reflect.“As an artist I wanted to respond to Glendalough and Glendasan Valleys as an historic mining site,Æ says Deeley. This approach continues the artist’s interest in post-extractive landscapes, an interest that has taken her as far afield as Ukraine and South Africa, researching the effects of mining on the land.

The exhibition is open until Saturday 10th May.

www.judycarrolldeeley.com