Thank you to all the participants 180 + who decided on the colour scheme and the title of this artwork. This artist led permanent piece required many hands to add to the work and give it meaning and value. Each family selected a pillar, a colour to paint it and many, many titles for the work. One title Rainbow Forest was drawn out of a hat just before the unveiling on Saturday night the 11th October. The pillars were all interconnected by narrow red ribbons and each post had a light on it for the ceremony, which took place in the dark after dinner.
The local bird life were attracted to the sculpture from the word go – they used the top of the post to rest and observe the world from! I returned two days after the event to put on a coat of varnish and I had to clean the tops of the posts after they had left their debris.
The Rainbow Forest, 2014. Wood, acrylic paint. Site specific, permanent, participatory outdoor sculpture installed in the grounds of Barretstown Camp, KIldare. Dim. Length 7mts x w.4 mts x h.2.5mts
This exciting outdoor sculpture project in Barretstown Camp is supported by Barretstown, Kildare County Council Arts Office and Kildare Arts and Wellbeing. Many thanks to all the exceptional participants for their input, to Caroline, Ger, Claire and Carolann without whom this project may not have happened. We were blessed with the weather, the sun shone for the entire weekend.
This year is the 20th anniversary of the opening of Paul Newman’s Barretstown Camp, outside Naas, a truly magical place to be!
Painting the Rainbow Forrest 2014
Rainbow Forrest unveiling, with LED lights, connected by red ribbon.