Landfall, Glengad - oil on canvas
The Corrib field, some 83 kms off the North County Mayo coast made landfall via an offshore pipeline at Glengad in 2009, during that period Glengad beach became an area of considerable opposition and protester activity.
The memories of visiting this site at Glengad are some of the most prominent during my first visits to the Corrib Project. I found myself in a lucky situation in which to capture this image of an engineer looking out to sea from a height, close to where the landfall valve, which controls the pressure of the onshore pipeline is located.
As the engineer gazes out across the beach into the bay, he has a vulnerable look, with his hard hat slightly aslant, a CCTV camera looks back at us, mounted atop an acoustic fence. This image gave me a very strong feeling. It took me time to identify what it was that I felt the image suggested. The soft gaze of the worker over a place that had seen much turmoil and the uniform and non-judgmental stare of the camera as it records the activity of the workers,surrounding landscape and seasons suggested to my mind the idea of a co-existence of opposites and that time heals all wounds. An area that had seen a great deal of chaos was now at peace!
I believe misunderstanding, bad communication and hurt on both sides lead to seemly chaotic behaviour but understand now over time people on both sides of the divide have begun to come together in a more constructive and meaningful way.
- Richard
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