Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II

cork | arts and media | news report

Monday November 17, 2008 18:30

by sheelaghnagig

sheelaghnagig at gmail dot com

The plight of Cork's beleaguered fishing industry has been high "lighted" in an unusual way by a West Cork artist.

Last Saturday, Baltimore-based artist, Sheelagh Broderick, teamed up with lighting designer, Chantelle Stewart, and a band of volunteer torchbearers, photographers and videographers to light an abandoned fishing boat at Church Strand.

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II Photo by Calvin Jones

Last Saturday, Baltimore-based artist, Sheelagh Broderick, teamed up with lighting designer, Chantelle Stewart, and a band of volunteer torchbearers, photographers and videographers to light an abandoned fishing boat at Church Strand.

Baltimore-based artist, Sheelagh Broderick, teamed up with lighting designer, Chantelle Stewart, and a band of volunteer torchbearers, photographers and videographers to light an abandoned fishing boat at Church Strand.

The Mulroy Bay II - which is visible, listing in the mud, near the foreshore as one approaches the village - was illuminated in a multi-coloured display.

Sheelagh said: "The idea to use lighting was to symbolise a kind of light-bulb moment - an epiphany - when you realise: this is it! This is the final destination of The Mulroy Bay 11.

The project, which was done in preparation for her graduate show, attracted a lot of interest when it took place, last Friday night.

Entitled, The Epiphany of The Mulroy Bay 11, Sheelagh said that by simply lighting the vessel, it became a talking point in the locality and illustrated how the hopes and dreams of those who built her, and fished her, are dashed.

"It will never put to sea again. It will never fish again," said Sheelagh, who passes The Mulroy Bay 11 and other abandoned fishing boats every day.

"They are such a sad sight as they lie crippled in the mud," she said, "I felt I had to do something to mark their demise."

Sheelagh, who has been planning this project since last September, got in touch with Chantelle, and she immediately saw the potential for a strong visual display.

High powered torches and coloured filters were used to light the fishing boat in an exercise that required meticulous planning, taking into account weather, tides, sunset and moonrise.

Volunteers were taken by RIB from the pier at Baltimore to Church Strand, where different lighting displays were directed at the stricken vessel. The Mulroy Bay II's final resting place - beneath the graveyard at Tullagh - added further pathos to the scene.

Sheelagh said: "The decline of the fishing industry has had a huge cultural, social and economic impact on small communities, such as Baltimore, and this event touched a chord with many people."

The project got great support from the local community and there was no shortage of volunteers.

Meanwhile, Chantelle, who is from Ballybofey, Co Donegal, but is now working in Dublin, has been active in architectural lighting projects for several years. Last month, she staged Guerrilla Lighting Dublin in the capital.

Commenting on the Baltimore project, she said: "It is great to come and help a community use lighting design to create something that speaks of the history of the people of Cork."

Sheelagh's project, The Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II, will be exhibited at the West Cork Arts Centre next Spring, but it can be seen online at http://sheelagh-na-gig.blogspot.com and www.guerrillalighting.net.