Exhibition "Here in Paradise", Co. Kerry
Sneem on the ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way: Paradise starts here
Here in Paradise is a public space exhibition by conceptual German artist Jochen Gerz, internationally known for his collaborative works on memory in France, Germany, England, Italy, Ireland and Austria.
Here in Paradise takes place in Sneem’s Sculpture Gardens. The village is unique in as far as it features contemporary art in public space offered to a small community by heads of states, parliaments and private donors. Whatever the reasons for its attraction, no place as small as Sneem shows the depth of migration and interchange in the European Union better. Half of its population is made up of blow-ins, as the Irish call residents from abroad. “The beautiful destination” mirrors and attracts the diversity of its visitors. The reasons are not as much the sculptures as the people of Sneem: they are speaking sculptures indeed.
- © Jochen Gerz, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 - Photographer Credit: Peter Zoeller, Sneem
Gerz asked forty people who live or work in Sneem to respond to one of three questions: “What would you wish for the future of Cul Fadda (Sneem’s ghost estate), Ireland or Europe?” Their answers and their photographic portraits, taken by well-known landscape photographer Peter Zoeller, present a self-portrait of the village. Here in Paradise offers a surprising and often courageous insight into the realities and the visions of contemporary people living, often by choice far from the cities “in a dream”.
Here in Paradise is commissioned by Sneem Tidy Towns and supported by the French and German Embassies, the Goethe-Institut in Dublin and the Kerry County Council.
"Here in Paradise" - Outdoor Exhibition
Opening Saturday 31st May 2014, runs until 18th September 2014.
Sneem North & South Squares, Co. Kerry
Admission Free, accessible to all (including wheelchairs).
Contact: Jane O’Sullivan, Sneem Events Office, North Square, Sneem, Co. Kerry.
An international symposium on on Jochen Gerz’ works in public spaces in France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland is to take place in
Dublin at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on November 14-15, 2014. The symposium is organised in partnership with the French Embassy in Ireland, Goethe-Institut, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National College of Art and Design.
The symposium is part of the official programme of France’s First World War Centenary Programme.
The Artist
Jochen Gerz was born in Berlin. He represented Germany at the Venice Biennale 1996 but spent most his professional life in Paris before deciding in 2007 to settle in Sneem. His participatory works on 20th century memory in Europe radically alter the relationship between art and viewer. They transcend social boundaries and broaden the access to dialogue and authorship. His art of public authorship shows democracy’s quest for a new cultural contract.
Two years after his well-publicized outdoor exhibition Where has the Tiger gone? resulting in the first sale of a ghost estate by NAMA. Here in Paradise continues the public dialogue in the iconic Kerry destination.
www.jochengerz.eu
The Village of Sneem, Co. Kerry
Winner of the National Tidy Towns Competition in 1987, the village is home to Sneem Sculpture Gardens, a treasure trove of international sculptures featuring work by Vivienne Roche (President O’Dalaigh Memorial), Alan Hall (French President Charles de Gaulle and World champion Steve "Crusher" Casey Memorial), Tamara Rikman (Tree of Light donated by Israel President Chaim Herzog) and a Panda sculpture donated to the State by the People’s Republic of China.