Me Jewel and Darlin’
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| Artist Name(s) | Sean Lynch |
| Artwork title | Me Jewel and Darlin’ |
| Context/Background | The location of Me Jewel and Darlin’ on O’Connell Street is where Eamon O’Doherty’s Anna Livia sculpture was originally placed. Very soon after its appearance there in 1988, it was christened with the nickname ‘The Floozie in the Jacuzzi.’ The sculpture was removed in 2000 after Dublin City Council decided that its upkeep was too labour-intensive. Me Jewel and Darlin' (2012) was funded under the Per Cent for Art Scheme, related to the development of The LAB, Foley Street, Dublin 1. |
| Description | The title for the project, Me Jewel & Darlin’, was borrowed from Eamonn McThomais’ book of the same name. The public artwork was located on O’Connell Street from January 2011 until April 2012, near The Spire, on the central axis of the city’s main thoroughfare. It consisted of a display case, which housed an array of images and artefacts selected by artist. Within the box, this rotating ‘exhibition programme’ evoked reflection on various aspects of the city’s social histories, presented using titles which included: The Last Hour of the Night by Harry Clarke The first presentation was a reproduction of The Last Hour of the Night, by Harry Clarke (1889 - 1931). This illustration, made in 1922, shows a strange benevolent spirit of the city towering over and touching a Georgian tenement house. With the original ink drawing now lost, the reproduction and placement of Clarke’s symbolic work allows it to publicly allude to the decay and chaos of the city, offering a counterpoint to the propriety and monumentality of the 120-metre-high Spire located close by. One-Hundred Bottles for James Joyce by Danny McCarthy In April 2011, documentation and artefacts involved in a 1982 performance on O'Connell Bridge by artist Danny McCarthy was presented. BMW 3 series, registration 92D38478, tail light (section) In September 2011, another presentation was unveiled, consisting of a fragment of Sean Fitzpatrick’s BMW car, found in a scrapyard in Clondalkin in west Dublin earlier this year. The Use and Abuse of Monuments The location of the display case on O’Connell Street suggested a loose alternative to the line of official monuments (Parnell, Spire, Larkin, O’Connell, etc.) that appear there. Instead of commemorating historical achievements or momentous occasions, Me Jewel & Darlin’ focused on incidental occurrences and artistic practices that engage Dublin as a source and subject. |
| Mediation | Article: Sean Lynch, ‘Everyday Friction’, Visual Artists’ News Sheet, May/June 2011 visualartists.ie/articles/van-mayjune-2011-everyday-friction/ Text: Sean Lynch, ‘The Use and Abuse of Monuments’ - https://comeheretome.com/2012/05/18/the-use-and-abuse-of-monuments-by-sean-lynch/ |
| Biographies | Sean Lynch (b.1978, Kerry, Ireland) is a visual artist living in London. He studied fine art at the Stadelschule, Frankfurt am Main. In recent years his artworks have been exhibited at the Camden Arts Centre, London, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, neugerriemschneider, Berlin and Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, along with solo exhibitions at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin and Modern Art Oxford. He is represented by the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin, and is also author and editor of several publications. In 2015, Lynch will represent Ireland at the 56th International Venice Biennial, with Woodrow Kernohan and Mike Fitzpatrick curating the Irish pavilion. |
| Commission Type | Local Authority |
| Commissioner Name | Ruairi O Cuiv, Public Art Officer, Dublin City Council |
| Commissioning process | Invitation |
| Artform | Visual Arts |
| Funded By | Dublin City Council |
| Percent for art | Yes |
| Project commission end date | 29/04/2012 |
| Location | O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 |
| County | Dublin |
| Website | www.seanlynchinfo.com/MeJewelandDarlin.htm |
| Content contributor(s) | Web Editor |
| Associated professionals / Specialists involved | Project curator: Aisling Prior Case fabrication: Vintage Works, Wexford; Bushy Park Ironworks, Dublin Structural Engineering: PUNCH Consulting Engineers, Limerick Carpentry: Raymond Griffin, Limerick Further Acknowledgements: Colm Bagnall, Nicola Gordon Bowe, Kevin Clancy, Carl Doran, Dublin City Council Arts Office, Dublin Civic Trust, Carl Giffney, Isobel Harbison, Michele Horrigan, Kevin Kavanagh, Danny McCarthy, Neil McKenzie, Ruairí Ó Cuív, Amanda Ralph, National Library of Ireland, Dan Scully. |
