A return to the origins. ‘i see Earth’ building and ground 1991-2021 by Tom dePaor

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a large-scale immersive sculpture, suspended from the ceiling of the main gallery spanning 29m x 16m x 11m high. The sculpture reconstitutes dePaor’s work into three-dimensional form, bringing to life the familiar Willow Pattern, hand-painted in cobalt blue. This linear form highlights architectural drawing as the primary communication and production of the architect. Like a drawing, where the three-dimensional nature is shown by cross-hatched lines, here cross-hatching achieves both structural stability and delicate beauty in 6mm wireframes.

Hand-painted in cobalt blue, the 3-dimensional drawing or sculpture will be suspended from the ceiling of the main gallery, spanning 29m x 16m x 11m high, which corresponds to the proportions of an A4 paper sheet. The sculpture is artificially lit by ‘These islands’, a diptych of films recorded on Achill Island in 2013 and at Ballysadare Quarry in 2017.

dePaor and Maybury also collaborated on ‘Temperance’, a vessel made of mild steel seen on the fa ade in front of VISUAL which can be seen on arrival. The word Arethusa is etched into the base of the sculpture, referencing the Greek deity who was turned into a stream. The letters provide an escape from the water collected by the sculpture.

The exhibition will also incorporate excerpts from dePaor’s prose poem ‘previous, next’, which interpolates the radio exchanges between ground control and the first cosmonaut. Hence the exhibition’s title, ‘i see Earth’.

In addition to the main sculptural installation, the exhibition will host a documentary by Peter Maybury, a long-term collaborator of dePaor’s, who has gathered and conserved notebooks, drawings, photos and films of the practice over 30 years. This film complements the main exhibition and includes content never seen before.

‘i see Earth’ will create a highly immersive architectural experience encompassing painting, film, writing and sculpture to reimagine the way architecture is presented and break down conventions. Curator Nathalie Weadick seeks to challenge the status of curation in the dissemination of architectural culture, just as dePaor challenges the production and definition of architecture itself. Together they have developed a stunning multimedia exhibition whose interplays allow for multiple interpretations. Beyond a retrospective, ‘i see Earth’ reconfigures Tom dePaor’s work as an imaginative world of possibilities and invites visitors to step inside.


The wizard for Manchán Magan. Photograph by David Sexton.