Art Project - Liffey Love RESTLESS Dublin
Artist Rhona Byrne invited Billings Jackson to collaborate on a funding application for a new art project she envisioned for the streets of Dublin. The Dublin Council was offering funding through its Per Cent for Art scheme. Rhona’s idea was inspired by her recent trips along the River Liffey, where she found joy in sailing and noticed a group actively sweeping plastic from the water with an ingeniously adapted boat. This effort, led by the Irish Nautical Trust, aimed to clear the river and oceans of plastic waste. Inspired, Rhona conceived an art piece—a new kind of urban space on the riverbanks, moulded from plastic collected by the Liffey Sweeper. We won the commission and started to work on more defined ideas.
We quickly learned that the pieces would be made in sheet form. Rhona began to conceptualize, and we sought references from the river. We were all intrigued by the motion of the water, and Rhona worked to incorporate that into the design while we explored how the panels might fit together.
One of the most captivating and rewarding aspects of collaborating with Rhona is her ability to subtly guide you through the intricate layers of thought underpinning her art. Her approach is akin to a slow, deliberate unspooling of a thread, each gentle cue and direction inviting you to delve deeper into the work. With each carefully considered nudge, your perception broadens, and what begins as a simple appreciation for the aesthetic transforms into a profound engagement with the underlying ideas.
Initially, the concept of extracting plastics from the flowing waters of the Liffey and repurposing them into a riverside art installation captures your imagination. It feels immediately intuitive—a poetic response to a pressing environmental issue. But as Rhona's vision unfolds, you begin to understand that this installation is not merely a “piece"; it is a living, interactive “place.” Rhona isn’t just crafting a static object; she is constructing a dynamic thought experiment, a space where art, ecology, and community intersect.
