Sirius Arts Centre and West Cork Arts Centre
present
People of the Sea
Photographs by Gilles Perrin
Exhibition opens at Sirius Arts Centre
Thursday 2 December 7.00pm
Special Guest Speaker: Tom McSweeney, Marine Correspondent
Exhibition opens at West Cork Arts Centre
Friday 3 December 7.00pm
Special Guest Speaker: Jason Whooley, CEO, Bord Iascaigh Mhara,
Irish Sea Fisheries Board
West Cork Arts Centre and Sirius Arts Centre present a joint exhibition of photographs by French photographer, Gilles Perrin. The large format black and white images capture the lives of people working in maritime industries around the Cork coastline. Gilles Perrin selected the people to photograph by visiting harbours and piers in locations such as Cobh, Baltimore, Schull and Castletownbere, chatting to the people he met there and meeting others by word-of-mouth. He created his images, working with long exposure times and the large negatives utilised in this process allow tiny details to be viewed with extreme clarity. Often Perrin presents his work as diptychs and triptychs to reveal the full panoramic landscape of the subjects he photographs.
The pictures in People of the Sea are a valuable documentation illustrating the lives of people who work with the sea today, acknowledging this long standing tradition in Ireland's heritage.
Gilles Perrin is based in Paris, France and has a Master’s Degree in photography. For over 30 years Gilles has photographed extensively with large format cameras (4x5 and 8x10). His passion for photography has taken him to Africa, Tibet, Finland, India, China, Peru and throughout Europe. His work has been exhibited in Japan, China, Syria, Egypt, USA and Europe. This is Gilles Perrin's first exhibition in Ireland and the images in People of the Sea were made while in Ireland on artist residencies in 2007 and 2008.
The photographs in these two exhibitions were printed in Cork at iophotoworks by Tony O’Brien whose kind support is greatly appreciated. It was also made possible in part through an arts grant from Cork County Council and a donation by Cobh businessman, Michael Martin. Nicole Ewenczyk was also a key figure in the making of these images.
People of the Sea continues to January 2011.
For more information on People of the Sea, please contact:
