My work explores the notion of ‘authenticity’ through mark-making and composition. Tom Collins Pub in Limerick City provides a template for my understanding of ‘authentic’. A 1970’s style pub, its dark colour palette, patterned surfaces, and glass lamps have remained seemingly consistent throughout the years. Yet the visuals and interior design have developed over decades, so subtly that to those who frequent it, it appears to remain constant and unchanged.
These changes record the ongoing development of the bar. Thumb marks in putty, random groups of miscellaneous objects, patterns, and scuffs on glass and timber that speak of their time and use. Authenticity is embedded in the ongoing motion of surfaces and objects.
These objects, intricate surfaces, and compositions prompt the search for authenticity in my own work. Celebrating the trace of the maker, I use texture, surface and manipulation to create thrown forms with a comforting yet ambiguous familiarity.
