Press release
Mary Robinson opens 1845: Memento Mori by Paula Stokes at Dublin Castle's St Patrick's Hall
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Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, today (21 July) launches 1845: Memento Mori – a memorial installation dedicated to the Great Irish Famine – in St Patrick’s Hall at Dublin Castle. The stark, simple banquet table which holds the inedible crop of 1,845 hand-blown, ghostly white glass potatoes created by artist Paula Stokes is laden with symbolism and meaning in this location that served as the centre of opulence and power at a time of starvation, mass emigration and misery outside the Castle’s gates.
Under historic ceiling paintings that represent a vision of Irish national prosperity under British rule, history unfolds under our gaze as we return to the year the potato blight arrived in Ireland in 1845 and grasp its deadly consequences: memento mori. Describing a reception held in St Patrick’s Hall at the height of the Famine, one guest wrote:
‘It seemed odd to see so splendid a scene in a land of famine and misery.’
177 years later, this stark contrast is driven home by the juxtaposition of Stokes’ installation in its new setting. Where once there were scenes of splendour, there are now stark symbols of famine and misery. Where once the poorest were on the outside, they have now been welcomed in. Representing the story of Ireland’s most powerless in a space once reserved for the most powerful, the installation is a moving and challenging symbol of hunger in a place of plenty.
Emphasising the importance of this exhibition shown in the State Apartments, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan, commented:
“As custodians of Dublin Castle, we in the OPW have a responsibility to show our visitors the many layers and facets of this place in Irish history. Between 1845 and 1852, more than 1 million people died and over 1 million more fled Ireland for other lands including North America and Australia. Yet throughout the Famine years, St Patrick’s Hall was the centre of elite social life in Ireland. Beneath its painted ceiling, balls and banquets continued as normal, culminating in the visit of Queen Victoria in 1849. These scenes of pomp and prosperity jarred with the shocking images of death and despair beyond the Castle gates.
"Memento Mori hones in on this imbalance. It reminds us of the victims of the Famine, it challenges us to reflect on the fragility of life and to commit, in the face of the humanitarian crises we face today, to doing everything we can to prevent history repeating itself.”
Speaking ahead of the opening of the exhibition, artist Paula Stokes said:
“It is an honour to bring this artwork to a national and international audience in this most symbolic venue. I made the first glass potato over 18 years ago, as an emigrant living in America. It was a ‘memento’ of my home, of my Ireland in all its comfort and familiarity. Bringing this exhibition to Dublin Castle is a homecoming of its own. It was here that I first saw the Famine exhibition, Coming Home. In that exhibition’s catalogue, I was struck by the F.J. Davis’ painting St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, in which a lavish ball was depicted in St Patrick’s Hall.
"It focused my mind on creating a larger scale memorial to the famine, one that would speak of the tragedy, of excess and depravity, of control and power, of those who have and those who have not. Here in Dublin Castle, decisions were made that changed the course of our people, landscape, and futures. The humble glass potato is a powerful symbol of food and hunger, of fragility and vulnerability. Conversations around food poverty and control are as vital today as they were over 170 years ago."
For further information or photography of the installation in St Patrick’s Hall by Barry Cronin, please contact the Press Office at pressoffice@opw.ie
Photography from the launch will be available from Photocall Ireland info@photocallireland.com
The launch will take place at 18:30 on 21 July in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle State Apartments.
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Location: Dublin Castle State Apartments
Dates: 22 July–23 August 2022, open daily 9:45 to 17:45 (last admission at 17:15)
Admission: included with entry to the State Apartments
Links : https://vimeo.com/585674270
In May 2021, this exhibition opened at Strokestown Park House in County Roscommon. It was also shown at Johnstown Castle Estate in County Wexford, the American Folk Park, Ulster Museum in County Tyrone, and the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life in County Mayo. It will be shown at the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, County Galway later this summer.
Paula Stokes was born and grew up in in Ireland and emigrated to the USA after college. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland with a bachelor’s degree in Glass Design. She also has a Certificate in Glassmaking and Technology from the Dudley College of Technology, UK. Stokes received the Milnora Roberts Scholarship for Academic Excellence in Printmaking from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
She has exhibited extensively internationally, with exhibitions including 1845: Memento Mori at the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History, Port Townsend and METHOD Gallery, Seattle (2019), Design and Literature Showcase, CIACLA, Los Angeles (2019), Solas: Light Inspires Glass, Morean Arts Center, Florida (2017), Into The Field, The Model Contemporary Art Center, Sligo (2014), Future Beauty at the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny (2013), Critical Selection, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Collect 2012, Saatchi Gallery, London, Engaging with Glass, Traver Gallery, Tacoma, and the Solstice Arts Centre, Co. Meath, Ireland (2011- 2012), Supermarket, Stockholm, Sweden (2012), Transformation, Shift Gallery, Seattle (2012), 21st Century Irish Craft, National Museum of Ireland (2011), and The Wild Geese, Crafts Council of Ireland Gallery, Ireland (2007).
Her work is included in many collections including the National Museum of Ireland and the Irish Embassies in Brussels and Beijing.
Stokes has been awarded residencies at the Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Ballinskelligs, Ireland, and at the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History, Port Townsend, Washington. In 2021 she received a Creative Ireland award for 1845: Memento Mori at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Ireland.
This project has been generously supported by the Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust.