Exhibition of local residents’ artefacts on show in Moate

A new exhibition on display in Moate entitled, 'Art from Artefacts', aims to inspire people to understand they have a story to tell worthy of documenting and passing onto their descendants.

The work seeks to explore the familiarity of an object that has been in a family home and has a personal history.

The project was facilitated by local artist Ann Wingfield who collected 20 pieces from Moate residents. Each participant was given a notebook and they discussed how to portray their story and item through written word and photography. Speaking about the project, Ann said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed talking with the people of our community that have generously shared their stories, the concept was to encourage people to see the value of their memories and to inspire them by selecting a familiar object and build a story.”

“People that would never have had something put up on a wall and presented in the public domain have now had that opportunity. They're extremely proud of what they've achieved and I'm hoping more will come on board with it. I feel this is phase one, that phase two could happen next year. I have a studio and people could come and sit and join me in my studio and sit and have a chat so I think I might extend that invitation to people in their own time.”

Ann added that the pieces in the project symbolise moments in people's lives, and have now memorialised the memory in a public way.

“They're not just in their memories now, they've now come out into the public domain and they exist not just in their memories or in their thoughts so now they're out there to be seen and read and enjoyed.” Ann feels that there's a story to each piece and that each one has a soul attached to it.

'Art from Artefacts' is quite a nostalgic, reflective experience and some of the stories are very personable about relationships that the contributors have had with people that are now gone in their lives and the relevance of that object that brings that person back into their lives again. It was interesting to see how the idea for the exhibition was also influenced by the recent Census and the new time capsule element which people could utilise to inform future generations of what life is like in Ireland currently.

People's personal experiences of love, grief, childhood and work are individual but also exhibit universal themes which we all can somewhat identify with, Ann said.

"Holding an object or being in that place can transport you back to the people and events that were familiar in formative years. An object may be as simple as a plate that apple pies were made on, a broken watch, a rusted tool, a pair of spectacles, a milk jug."

Ann said that she would also like to get the local primary schools, Moate Community School and Moate Business College involved in the project. “I'd like the new artists to see how art can be presented away from example of sculpture and painting and drawing traditional that you can present art in this context as well. I'd like it more to be about the people that participated and how it's opened up a sense of value in their lives and stories.”

‘Art from Artefacts' provides a meaningful and engaging way to encourage people to explore their heritage and create a lasting record of their personal stories and their family and cultural traditions. Art can reflect familiarity and become more relevant to understanding our genealogy, our sense of place and who we are. We all have similar stories to tell, associated with objects, items or places, childhood memories that formed who we are and our place in family and community.

The pieces include a chronological timeline of a man’s life, the story of a woman’s life in Limerick and another woman’s relationship with her father who has passed away.

One object chosen was an epaulette which tells the story of a young boy nurtured by mentors to learn the skill of morse code and onto amateur radio, which was the origins of a career as a maritime radio officer. Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby and volunteer public service that uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages

Ma's glasses, one of the objects selected by a participant of the project, tells of a tender relationship between mother and daughter, the glasses were never cleaned after Ma passed away, a way to know that traces of her are still here.

Speaking about getting people on board with the project, Ann said: “People are very modest. When I first approached people they said 'I haven't got a story' and then they proceed to tell me a story. People have a modesty to them and maybe it's a generational thing that they don't think they have a value value in this context.”

“We now look and appreciate and enjoy those objects and enjoy the stories related to the people that used them. It gives us a whole notion of our own selves and our places in history and where we've come from and the foundations of our existence from objects and artefacts.”

Heritage Officer for Westmeath County Council Melanie McQuaid opened the exhibition and Jane Horn recited a rendition of Thomas Moore’s ‘Oft In The Stilly Night.’ Some of the lyrics are relevant to the exhibition, 'Fond memories brings the light of others' days round me and the smiles, the tears of boyhood years.'

The contributors involved in the project were: Abi Ayinde, Betty Horan, Bríd Mulhall, Ed Coogan, Gel Ryan, Geraldine Coogan, Jim Guinan, John Brennan, John O'Connell, Johnny Doran, Paddy McIntyre, Pat Moran, Patsy McCormack and Sabina Moran.

A book featuring the collections of stories associated with the memorabilia has also been donated to Moate Library. The exhibition was launched in Tuar Ard Arts Centre in Moate on Monday, August 21 and will remain on display in the Bob Traynor Gallery until Friday, September 15.

The project was supported by Creative Ireland and Westmeath County Council through the arts office.