Iontaise Iontas/ Fossil Wonder  

2019/ Coláiste Raithín, Bray, Co. Wicklow, IRE/ Percent for Art Commission

For a brief moment in time Bray head was the focus of geologists all over the world when Thomas Oldham discovered what was thought to be the oldest ever fossil. This trace fossil, Oldhamia Radiata, was believed to represent the origins of life!

IONTAISE IONTAS trans. Fossil Wonder is a family of large scale sculptures built from granite boulders, clear resin and stainless steel.

IONTAISE IONTAS is about memory, heart, endurance and legacy. Constructed from the formidable granite stone that is at the core of the Wicklow landscape together with pockets of resin housing fragments specific to the community of Colaiste Raithin, Iontaise-Iontas is at once intimate and monolithic.

IONTAISE IONTAS is inspired by the strange boulders pockmarked with circular indentations, known as Bullán stones that are found at significant Celtic sites across the Irish landscape. Archaeologists wonder as to the purpose of these enigmatic sculptures, whether as part of religious ritual or for practical use, these stones embody something of the spirit of our ancestors and speak to us across time.

Similarly, IONTAISE IONTAS sets out to house and represent something of the spirit of Colaiste Raithin, a spirit defined by wonder, curiosity, confidence and heart. The clear resin casts that are embedded within the stone sculptures were created through workshops with a group of fifth year students. The students were asked to select a small object or fragment that says something of what Colaiste Raithin means to them. These trace objects together with pigments and materials they choose form colourful and intimate pockets that appear as tiny ecosystems in the stone’s surface.

Balancing the dichotomies of memory and expectation IONTAISE IONTAS is an enduring work it stands firm within the current of time and will remain formidable and meaningful into the future both for the community of Colaiste Raithin and generations to come.

Iontaise Iontas was commissioned by the Kildare Wicklow Education and Training Board as part of the Percent for Art Scheme and was curated by Wicklow County Council Arts Office.

Resin pieces were produced with collaboration with Odyssey Studios.

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Tráth dá raibh chuir geolaithe ar fud an domhain suim faoi leith i gCeann Bhré toisc gur ceapadh go raibh Thomas Oldham tar éis teacht ar an iontaise ba shine riamh. Creideadh gur sheas Oldhamia Radiata, an rianiontaise, do bhunús an tsaoil.

IONTAISE IONTAS aistriú Fossil Wonder. Séard atá i gceist ná grúpa de dhealbha mhóra déanta as bolláin eibhir, roisín gléinigh, agus cruach dhosmálta.

Tá IONTAISE IONTAS bunaithe ar chuimhne, chroí, sheasmhacht agus oidhreacht. Tá sé déanta as eibhear ollmhór atá croílár i dtirdhreach Chill Mhantáin maraon le pócaí de phíosaí beaga  roisín a bhaineann go sainiúil le pobal Choláiste Ráithín. Tá Iontaise-Iontas dlúth  maraon le bheith monailiteach

Thug na bolláin móra lena marcanna ciorcalacha aite, ionsparáid d’IONTAISE IONTAS. Feictear na bolláin seo go minic ag suíomhanna Ceilteacha ar fud Tírdhreach na hÉireann.  Bíonn geolaithe ag déanamh machnaimh suas go dtí an lá atá inniu ann, maidir le cúis na ndealbh diamhara seo. Ní fios an raibh siad in úsáid mar dheasghnáth reiligiúnda, nó do rud praicticiuil. Pé scéal é tá spiorad ár sinsear thar imeacht ama corpraithe sna clocha seo.

Ar an dóigh chéanna tá sé i gceist ag IONTAISE IONTAS seasamh agus áit a thabhairt i mbealach éigin do spiorad Choláiste Ráithín, Spiorad a léiríonn iontas, fiosracht, féinmhuinín agus croí. Chruthaigh grúpa dalta ó Bhl 5 na cásálaigh roisín gléinigh ag ceardlann. Roghnaigh na daltaí rudaí beaga nó píosaí a sheasann don léiriú atá acu féin ar an scoil. Déanann na rianrudaí seo maraon le hábhar datha agus bunabhair, pócaí daite speisialta a thagann trasna mar éiceachóras bídeach ar dhromchla na cloiche.

Tugann IONTAISE-IONTAS cothramaíocht chontrárthacht do chuimhne agus d’fhís an todchaí. Is obair sheasmhach í a sheasfaidh an fód amach anseo do phobal Choláiste Ráithín agus na glúnta atá le teacht.