HEARTS + MINDS
Case Study - 02
I was invited by Mount Anville Sacred Heart Education Trust in Dublin, Ireland to join the team responsible for the design and creation of the permanent exhibition titled HEARTS + MINDS for an installation at Mount Anville House.
The exhibition celebrates the legacy of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and of the Society for their contribution to education in Ireland.
The brief.
Starting at the entrance hall the history of the Order was to be depicted through colour, icons relating to the period and using archival materials It was also to be agreed the best solution for displaying artefacts. The Order is global, hence the clients were multiple.
The Execution
Research on historic colours kicked off the thought process. After many months of in depth sourcing and information seeking, proposals were made to the Trustees of colour tones, materials, finishes, icons to celebrate the particular period. Drawings were presented showing how the precious artifacts would be displayed. Many meetings took place with the team of designers to agree installation, design and layouts. Lighting experts were nominated to advise on lighting and we agreed contemporary fittings to juxtapose classical with contemporary.
I commissioned internationally renowned Artist, Peter Monaghan, who was given the task of representing the story of the Order in one 3D piece. Peter was inspired by the 12th Century Italian mathematician Fibonacci who discovered patterns in nature that repeat. A magnificent installation was the result.
This project hung on the attention to detail brought by every professional on the team. A thoroughly enlightening project I was privileged to be part of. The exhibition is open to the public one day per week.
Brief: Phase 2
As part of the works to be carried out at Mount Anville Convent I was asked to upgrade the beautiful chapel positioned inside the convent. Quite a spectacular challenge as the painting required scaffolding to be erected to reach the great height of the dome. There was one chance only to get this right before the scaffolding was removed. Predicting how the depths of colours from the palette proposed would translate from viewing below to such a height was key. No chance here to tweak after the event! Then came the question….. do I follow the tradition of using the typical colours seen in carpets on alters or do I break with tradition…… I couldn’t resist the temptation to use beautiful olive and stone colours and have a carpet made to suit the scheme. All was at last coming together to create the perfect sanctuary for calm and reflection.
Both the permanent exhibition and the chapel renovation were opened during a formal ceremony attended by dignitaries from around the world and was very well received.
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