I am a visual artist based in Dún Laoghaire. My work explores the history of ‘making marks’ in the context of drawn, written and programmed language: using present-day and historical data as research material, I investigate modes of inscription, replication and transmission. I often use obsolete office copying materials in making my work; carbon paper, typewriter film and wax stencil paper. The binary nature of much of the work is the result of following the logic of these materials; it explores the relation between the original and its copy, sharing characteristics and appearance with print.
Dwi'n artist gweledol yn Dún Laoghaire. Mae fy ngwaith i’n edrych ar hanes 'gwneud marciau' yng nghyd-destun iaith wedi'i lluniadau, wedi’i hysgrifennu ac wedi'i rhaglennu: gan ddefnyddio data heddiw a data hanesyddol yn ddeunydd ymchwil, dwi'n ymchwilio i ddulliau arysgrifio, dyblygu a throsglwyddo. Dwi'n aml yn defnyddio deunyddiau copïo swyddfa darfodedig wrth wneud fy ngwaith; papur carbon, ffilm teipiadur a phapur stensil cwyr. Mae natur ddeuaidd llawer o'r gwaith yn deillio o ddilyn rhesymeg y deunyddiau hyn; mae'n edrych ar y berthynas rhwng y gwreiddiol a'r copi, gan rannu nodweddion a golwg gyda phrint.
Mimeograph Postcards
Print has become an active medium in my work, and postcards are often fascinating, ephemeral records of places. For Ports, Past and Present I used a deliberately ‘historical’ technology, a manual Gestetner Neo-Cyclostyle Duplicating machine (c.1890) to produce a series of mimeograph postcards relating to Dublin Port, Holyhead, Rosslare Harbour, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock. For me, this process captured something of the transience, strangeness and nostalgia of many visitor experiences of the Irish Sea port towns.
Cardiau Post Mimeograff
Mae print wedi dod yn gyfrwng gweithredol yn fy ngwaith i, ac mae cardiau post yn aml yn hynod ddiddorol, yn gofnodion byrhoedlog o leoedd. Ar gyfer Porthladdoedd, Ddoe a Heddiw defnyddiais dechnoleg 'hanesyddol' fwriadol, peiriant dyblygu Neo-Cyclostyle Gestetner (tua 1890) i lunio cyfres o gardiau post mimeograff yn ymwneud â Phorthladd Dulyn, Caergybi, Harbwr Rosslare, Abergwaun a Doc Penfro. I mi, roedd y broses hon yn dal rhywfaint o’r tryloywder, y dieithrwch a’r hiraeth a geir ym mhrofiadau llawer o’r ymwelwyr â threfi porthladd Môr Iwerddon.
The postcards for Dublin Port focus on trade and the movement of goods. I took a boat trip on the Liffey, viewing the port from the sea, after which I selected two images to work with.
Julie Merriman explains the technical processes that she makes use of in her work, and discusses the first postcards that she has made for the Ports Past and Present project. She also talks about her Carlisle Pier residency in Dun Laoghaire.
