Crocosmia × at TU Dublin

Clodagh Emoe with Hallah Farhan Dawood, Ragad Farhan Dawood, Papy Kahoya Kasongo and Romeo Kibambe Kitenge.
Clodagh Emoe with Hallah Farhan Dawood, Ragad Farhan Dawood, Papy Kahoya Kasongo and Romeo Kibambe Kitenge.

For International Sculpture Day, TU Dublin activated Crocosmia × in TU Dublin Grangegorman and IMMA, inviting the public to reflect on the metaphor of Crocosmia × and the challenges and obstacles endured by those displaced by political, social and environmental issues.

Copies of “The Plurality of Existence in the Infinite Expanse of Space and Time”, anthology of poetry by individuals seeking asylum in Ireland were available to borrow from Happy Days Coffee Van in TU Dublin Grangegorman.

Recordings of a selection of the poems recited by the authors, The Plurality of Existence in the Infinite Expanse of Space and Time, are available HERE.

And information on the Crocosmia × can be found HERE.

Crocosmia × by Clodagh Emoe (2018)

Crocosmia × is a participatory project that aims to cultivate Crocosmia × croscosmiiflora, (known as Montbretia and Fealeastram Dearg) as a metaphor for diversity and inclusion in Ireland. This plant originally from South Africa now celebrated as an Irish wildflower questions received notions of what is ‘native’ and what is ‘foreign’. We cultivated the metaphor of Crocosmia × by exchanging poems for plants and through workshops in primary and secondary schools that resulted in two site-specific public artworks for TU Dublin Grangegorman and IMMA. Our gesture of planting these vibrant wildflowers transformed previously neglected areas by the playing fields in TU Dublin campus and a white metal bench by the front lawn in IMMA into a place where people might sit and be together. 

Clodagh Emoe

Realising the interdependance of life where everything is interconnected and in process Clodagh initiates collaborative projects and creates works that explore our place in the world. Her site-specific work foreground experience and perception, creating spaces in the public realm that invite thought. Her work has been commissioned both nationally and internationally; Serpentine Gallery, London, Taipei Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Nýló, Reykjavik, documenta XIII, Kaisel, Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Project Arts Centre, IMMA, Visual, Centre for Contemporary Art and Maynooth University. She has initiated collaborative projects that are extensive and inclusive; Mystical Anarchism (2009-2013) a series of midnight lectures and screenings with philosopher Simon Critchley, Creating the Common/The Unveiling (2010) a theatrical event parodying a failed unveiling of a monumental sculpture with older members of the community, The Plurality of Existence…(2015-2017) and Crocosmia × (2018) including a series of site-specific audio works and public site-works with individuals seeking asylum in Ireland and The Portal with 6th class pupils and play wright Shane Mac an Bhaird. Clodagh has received awards from the Arts Council of Ireland, Culture Ireland, Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, European Cultural Fund and AHRB, UK.  She has recently been nominated for the David and Yuko Juda Award UK.