Sarah Long

My work is concerned with the idea of the landscape as a receptacle of human ideas – a place where nature and allegory are intrinsically intertwined. I explore these ideas through painting, drawing and installation (working across sculpture, moving-image and sound). The landscape acts as a framework for my practice, allowing the work to reflect on the influence of Irish history and literature on both our cultural memory and our current collective perspective of space. I am informed by an array of Irish poets, myths and stories that have inscribed the natural world.

Process is an important element of my practice. There is a strong indexical presence in my use of mediums. The play between the human mark and patterns found in nature is often accompanied by artificial materials such as glitter, stencils and spray paint. I am concerned with the landscape as a medium rather than a genre of art. Through delicate, subtle patterns of expression I investigate the landscape as a visual language in and of itself. I am interested in thinking afresh about the landscape. The work considers our understanding of ‘Romantic Ireland’ as a past moment that continues to inform our complex present relationship with the Irish landscape. My current research seeks to reclaim the Mother Éire figure, from cultural symbol to cultural maker.