ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴛɪꜱᴛ'ꜱ ꜱᴛᴜᴅɪᴏ ᴀᴛ ᴛᴇᴍᴘʟᴇ ʙᴀʀ ɢᴀʟʟᴇʀʏ + ꜱᴛᴜᴅɪᴏꜱ, ᴅᴜʙʟɪɴ
Wednesday 9 July
9.30am - 11am
Free, drop-in. Coffee, tea and treats
As part of tour de force, Liliane and Ingrid visited one of the last tinsmiths of Ireland, James Collins, and his friend Michael Gig Collins.
At his workshop in Dublin, amongst his tools, tin ponchers, coal buckets, a barrel top wagon made with his own hands with a stove inside, James explained the challenges in the transmission of tinsmithing skills, methods and techniques due to the scarcity of tin and copper materials nowadays. With the impact of trade routes, global markets, hyper capitalisation, mass production, and the disregard of folk knowledge we are losing old forms of wisdom that have been carried forth for hundreds of years.
With thanks to Caoimhe McCabe, Arts & Culture Co Ordinator at Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre for liaising with James and introducing us to Michael Gig Collins.
To mark the departure of tour de force, James Collins, is introducing his tools along with a hands-on demonstration to fabricate a singular object, a talisman of good luck, to bring on the Renault 4’s journey around Ireland.
This launch will take place in the artist’s studio, on the ground floor of Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, with the Renault 4 parked in the background and the studio doors opened onto the pedestrian street for passer-by to drop in.
’After the rush candles they had a tin-smiths lamp which was made from a piece of tin with a long handle on it and a little piece of a burner on the top of the handle and a piece of corduroy for a wick. This lamp would hold about a naggon of paraffin oil. At that time the people thought a pint of oil a big order. Of course it was only on very special occasions they would light the tin lamp as they would knit and sew with the fire light’.
Bailiúchán na Scol, Imleabhar 0219, Leathanach 197 Íomhá agus sonraí © Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, UCD. Féach sonraí cóipchirt.
tour de force Co. Dublin pit stop in partnership with Temple Bar Gallery and Studios.