The straw-bale round tower was built for and funded by Fingal County Council Arts Office for Resort Revelation as part of The Bleeding Pig Festival 2015. The project was conceived by Gareth Kennedy and inspired by the coastal landscape in and round the two towers at Portrane.
I was asked to design the tower and mentor the project as a practical workshop for the Resort Revelation as part of The Bleeding Pig Festival. Built in Chinkwell field, tower bay, Portrane, a site was chosen for the tower, between the coastline and the two towers on the horizon, (Portrane round tower and the water tower). Constructed on a platform of large 4’ X 4’ bales, the tower was built around a timber frame with tightened standard bales and resized straw bales made on site by Kathryn McShane and Nollaig Malloy and used by myself and Jason Deans to build the tower. The tower took two long days (dawn to dusk) to build. As a public art installation, it was opened by the Mayor of Fingal and the Fingal Mummers, for people to view, enter and enjoy. The project was Photographed by Brian Cregan and a time-lapse camera was used to record a video for the project; (Vimeo.com link, to “The Origins uses of round tower.)
My thanks to, Gareth Kennedy, Brian Cregan, Kathryn McShane, Nollaig Malloy, Jason Deans and Fingal County Council Arts Office.
Take a look at this video about the Origins & Uses of Round Towers