Famine – Rowan Gillespie
‘Famine’ is a
collection of statues that were crafted by Rowan Gillespie in 1997. The statues sit
on the Custom House Quay in Dublin and depicts a group of starving figures
journeying to Dublin Port during the Great Irish Famine. The sculptures are
crafted from bronze, and feature an abundance of texture throughout. The
figures appear coarse, which adds to the rough, unclean look of the people.
Their clothes and skin look grubby and tattered, as they are living in
incredible poverty and starvation. In my opinion the texture used provides the
piece with a lot of interest and emotion.
The colours used
in these statues are muted and dull, which adds to the mood and atmosphere of
the piece. The figures are a mixture of dirty browns and dull yellows with a
hint of a pale moss-green. I think that the colours used in this piece are very
effective and enhance the overall look of the statues.
A feature of the
art piece I found particularly interesting was the artist’s manipulation of the
human body. The figures in the piece are elongated and narrowed, which helps
them to appear bony and frail, but also somewhat ghoulish. I think that this is a wonderful addition to
the sculptures and it really enhances the way that the viewer perceives the
figures.
