Fields of Vision

Re-imagining Human Geographies in a Border Landscape

Developed by the Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Fields of Vision explores the diversity of the border landscape, its cultural and physical geographies and their interactions. Supported by PEACE III, the project is funded by County Leitrim Peace III Partnership through the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). As such, the project focused on the ‘border landscape’ and its use as metaphor and mediator for peace and reconciliation between different communities in the region. Specifically offering opportunities for young people to engage with the rich heritage of their surroundings, the project fostered interaction between different schools and professional artists whilst exploring diverse viewpoints and perceptions of the land and its culture.

Four Irish artists, Andrew Dodds, Diane Henshaw, Seoidín O’Sullivan and Moira Tierney, each with particular interests in landscape representation and environmental arts practice, worked with ten schools from different border areas and cultural backgrounds. A total of 96 primary and secondary pupils participated. The research and workshop stage with schools was made possible with the support and facilitation of Community Connections CDP, Black Lion Co. Cavan who worked closely with LSC during this developmental stage.The artists engaged school children with their own practice leading visual arts research and field study trips to various locations along and across the border between counties Leitrim and Fermanagh. Their collective research and various artistic activities were presented as a joint exhibition at LSC where the artists and children work were integrated within a non-hierarchical presentation forming the final four projects. These included:

‘End Times’ by Andrew Dodds and pupils; ‘Drawing Music’ by Diane Henshaw and pupils; ‘Lines of Flight’ by Seoidín O’Sullivan and pupils; and the filmworks ‘Are We There Yet?’ by Moira Tierney and pupils. Participating schools included: St Clare’s, Manorhamilton; St. Mary’s Brollagh, Fermanagh; Killyhommon NS Boho; Kiltyclogher NS; St. Mary’s, Killesher; St. Martins, Garrison; Gaelscoil Chluainin; Florencecourt Fermanagh; Drumlease NS and St Hughes, Dowra. This project has been funded by the Peace III Programme through the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body

Diane Henshaw graduated with her Degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster in Belfast in 1995 and with her Masters in Fine Art from UUB in 2000. Originally from Islandmagee in County Antrim, Henshaw practised in Belfast at Queen Street Studios Artists Collective, for just under a decade before moving to Tempo in County Fermanagh. Henshaw has exhibited both Nationally and Internationally over the past decade and has worked as Artist in Residence at The Hooger Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium; The Chitraniketan Art Residency in Kerala, India; The Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Monaghan (multiple visits), The Sanskriti Kendra Artists Residency - New Delhi, India and in ‘08 at The Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Residency in the Queens Borough of New York City. Her work is in many private collections both nationally and internationally.Henshaw’s work has travelled as far as China, New Zealand, New York, Las Vegas, Mexico, France, Belgium, Bosnia, Georgia and many other International venues over the past 15 years.

Seoidin O’Sulivan's practice investigates socio-political and ecological narratives which she re-presents in critically engaged and poetical ways through a variety of media. Recent concerns involve an interest in ideas of ‘the commons’ and the notion of shared assets. What if we recognized ‘the commons’ as belonging to all of us? What would happen if we put a renewed interest in our inherited and publicly owned commons? O’Sullivan’s case studies focus on people joining together in action to protect or develop an aspect of their local commons. Her practice supports sustainable models within various ecological contexts and addresses issues of land use, lost knowledge and bio diversity. Seoidin O’Sulivan grew up in Kitwe, Zambia and later lived in Durban, South Africa where she completed a degree in Fine Art in 2000. She completed a Masters in Fine Art at the National college of Art and Design, Dublin (2005- 2007) where she researched the cultural challenge environmental sustainability poses to contemporary art. Her practice both collaborative and individual have received numerous awards and she have been exhibited widely. She currently teaches an elective at Dublin Institute of Technology that she designed called ‘Cultural Practices and Ecological Debate’.

Moira Tierney graduated with an honours BA from University College Dublin and went on to study fine art at l’Ecole Nationale d’Arts de Cergy-Paris, graduating in 1997 with an honours Diplome Nationale Superieure d’Expression Plastique. She was granted an Arts Council film award and a Fulbright Scholarship (to Anthology Film Archives in New York) in 1998 as well as a grant from the Irish Taoiseach’s Department for her film project ‘Matilda Tone’. Since moving to New York Moira has completed 14 short films as well as the half-hour documentary ‘Matilda Tone’; her films have screened internationally at venues such as the Fondation Cartier in Paris, the Rio Film Festival, the London and Edinburgh Film Festivals, the Rotterdam Film Festival and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, as well as participating in numerous touring programmes and gallery shows. Anthology Film Archives in New York and Les Inattendus Film Festival in Lyon have screened retrospective programmes of her work. Her films are distributed by Third World Newsreel and the Film-Makers Co-operative in New York and the Collectif Jeune Cinema in Paris.