Nigel Rolfe | Dark Pool
2010 Residency, Sculpture in the Parklands, Lough Boora Parklands, Co. Offaly
A Dublin-based performance artist, Nigel Rolfe has developed an international reputation over the last 30 years for his careful execution of aesthetic gesture through the interaction between his body and the material world. In addressing the Lough Boora Parklands, Rolfe and Russell began a conversation around a photo of artist Joseph Beuys running across Irish bogland during his visits to Ireland in 1971 taken by Caroline Tisdall. The work Eine Aktion im Moor (Bog Action) physicalised the rich diversity of the bogscape by enveloping the artist in its fabrics. The legacy of Beuys’ work presents not so much a history or past of art in bog landscapes but a call to engage with and embrace the possible futures of such spaces. Rolfe over a series of residential visits to the parklands, explored these possible futures of the bog space, creating a series of works in performance, video and photography.
