‘Things for Slow Moving Mind-Wandering’ by Lucy Hill

Artist Lucy Hill ran ‘Living Sculptures’ workshops with children in Cabra, Coolock and Ballyfermot libraries as part of the Creative Hubs programme. She decided that I wanted to use the actual drawings made by the children in the sculpture commission. In the workshops they explored ‘what matters to children, and what would children like to see in public sculpture that could best represent them?’

The experimental workshop processes of making human sculptures using our own bodies and available clothing, as well as of drawing, and pastel mono-printing helped the children to think of what affects we thought public sculptures ought to have.

• The most important thing to the children was that it would make viewers feel better. They thought that feeling better after looking at artwork, might help people to be and behave better, kinder, and more thoughtful, particularly towards others and the planet.
• They soon realised that a single image would be very difficult to agree on as everyone had different ideas of what might make them feel good (some thought of family, others of playing with friends, others of food, others of animals)
• They also thought that a sculpture should be dynamic in some way, so it could change on repeat viewings, just as we also change our minds and feelings from day to day.
• They unanimously agreed that one of the best things about art was allowing your mind to wander and for your ideas to connect with other peoples, so as to be able to create new ideas and to be open to new ways of seeing and thinking about the world.

Subsequently, Lucy decided that creating a slow moving mobile, using a variety of materials to represent the actual images that the children drew in the workshops could be a satisfactory and enjoyable approach. For this piece, Lucy remade the children’s drawings in oiled, charred and gold painted plywood, clear Perspex, bisque fired ceramics, metal wire, and 3D printed plastic. The reason for using different materials was to add interest, and to acknowledge that different materials appeal to different people for their various innate qualities. Essential artistic qualities such as colour, surface, texture, weight etc can generate different affective responses from viewers. Increasing the representation of differences in the materials is also a way of celebrating difference more generally.

Lucy Hill was commissioned to create this sculpture as part of Creative Hubs.

Creative Hubs are an initiative of Dublin City Arts Office and Libraries. The Creative Hubs programme is delivered by The Ark. It aims to create high quality arts experiences for children, schools and families to access in their Library and locality, through partnership and engagement.