Sculpting a new exhibition at athlones luan gallery

Monday is usually the only day of the week when Athlone’s Luan Gallery is not open to the public, but there was plenty of activity behind its closed doors as Mel French, an artist who works in sculpture, prepared for the unveiling of her first-ever solo exhibition.

Entitled 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place’, it will be officially opened today, Friday, September 4, and will then remain on display at the gallery until the end of October.

Mel is a native of London who relocated to the rural surroundings of North Westmeath roughly fifteen years ago. In an interview with the Westmeath Independent this week, she said she was excited about the launch of her exhibition.

“I feel a strong connection with what I do, and make, and I am thrilled that Luan Gallery have given me this opportunity and have such an understanding of where my work is coming from,” she said.

Her projects to date have included commemorative busts of folk music legend Luke Kelly (situated in Temple Bar pub The Auld Dubliner) and GAA commentator Michael O’Hehir (in Cusack Park, Mullingar, where O’Hehir’s broadcasting career began).

These were commissioned projects, but the work which will soon be on display in Athlone is different. Mel said it involved “morphing and distorting the human form,” creating “animal and human hybrids” and exploring “base human emotions and experiences”.

Her pieces are sculpted in clay using traditional processes and are then cast in a variety of substances including wax, chocolate, soap, metals, resins, hair and laundry lint.

When asked how she thinks people are likely to respond to the exhibition, Mel replied: “I hope that they will be able to engage with the work individually and find elements within the different pieces that they can relate to, empathise with, and understand in their own individual interpretation.

“Some people might find it vulgar, ugly, or repelling but once the viewer goes beyond their initial reaction I hope that they might see this work is intended to be compassionate, sensitive and embracing what makes us unique as individuals (and) human beings.”

Born in the English capital in 1971, Mel developed her interest in the creative arts at an early age. “Even as a young child I was drawn to making and drawing. As a teenager, I became more aware of the relevance of concepts within work,” she said.

Mel initially came to Ireland for a fortnight to visit a college friend. “I loved it here. The culture, the people, the opportunities.”

She applied to the National College of Art and Design, which is where she gained a degree in sculpture. A year after arriving in Ireland, she met her now-husband Gerard Leslie from Streete, Co Westmeath. They live in Streete, and she spoke affectionately about her adopted home.

“We are surrounded by beautiful countryside and lakes, and it has a very strong sense of community. It is a perfect environment to raise our family. We are very close to the N4, so travelling to galleries, foundries or material suppliers for work is relatively easy. I feel we have the best of both worlds, urban and rural,” she commented.

While she is interested in many art forms - including film, sound, performance, installation, photography and video - she was particularly drawn to sculpture.

“The physicality of sculpture excites me,” she said. “Materials and process are areas that I am interested in; how to make a mould of something, how different materials work, and how the combination of form, material and concept work together.”

The primary concern of her work is “the exploration of the human condition and psyche,” Mel said. She typically spends a lot of time sketching, researching and thinking about potential pieces.

“It is intrinsic in my day to day life,” she explained. “Some of the works that are realised within this show have been in my head for months, some much longer, some less.

“Some of the work that I had intended to make I left behind and decided not to develop, some I started and then moved on from. Creating art work is very fluid for me, the work evolves during its development.”

She said she was fortunate to have been given support from Westmeath Community Development to develop a purpose-built workshop, and there were a lot of “long days and nights” in recent months as she moved into the workshop and prepared pieces for the exhibition.

“A lot of my work is life sized, or greater, so there are many considerations to take into account,” she pointed out.

When asked about the Arts scene in the Midlands in general, Mel said the arrival of the Luan Gallery had been an “incredible” asset for the region.

“We needed a publicly accessible space that celebrates and represents the Arts in Westmeath in a professional, respectful, contemporary and engaging manner. The Midlands Art Magazine is a great publication for promoting awareness of the Arts in the Midlands. There is lot going in terms of the Arts in Westmeath and there is a great community of artists,” she concluded.

* The 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place’ exhibition will be launched at the Luan Gallery on Friday, September 4, at 6pm, with a wine reception. All are welcome to attend. The exhibition will run until October 30.