Artists: James & Sally Maidment
Father and daughter team James and Sally Maidment present Earth + Water, an exhibition of painting, installation and photography at the Hyde Gallery, Sligo. Both graduates of the Fine Art Department at the Institute of Technology, Sligo,
22 MARCH – 11 APRIL 2017 (10am-5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays)
The artists invite visitors to the exhibition to share their fascination with skill, place, identity and experience. Through a series of portraits and installation elements James focuses on a group of men he worked with in rural Sligo, hedging & ditching the roads in the late 1980’s. James pays homage to the men’s physical skills, and the knowledge he gained from their stories which reflected their deep connection to and understanding of, the locality, its history and inhabitants.
Sally presents a series of photographic works documenting the final training session of a young Maltese team of rowers from the Bormla Rowing Club, before the annual rowing regatta held in Bighi Bay. A hotly contested competition, the U18 team train daily to defend the titles won by their fathers and grandfathers.
Both artists have a deep respect for manual skills that are developed over a period of time, and the fruits of joint endeavour that are manifested through the efforts of each group of men, at different stages of their lives. The U18 rowers on the brink of manhood, and the difficult choices that we make as we navigate through life, in contrast with the older gentlemen who have experienced the highs and lows that life can challenge us with.
Sally comments ‘I am very excited to have this opportunity to exhibit with my dad and to display our individual responses to shared interests side by side, this will hopefully provide the viewer with a unique opportunity to reflect on achievement and skill.’
James always planned to work with the material that he collected during that year in Highwood and he is pleased to have this opportunity to pay his respects to the men from whom he learnt so much.
“I believe that there is no better way to measure a man’s character, than to work alongside him…”