The Dungarvan Art Trail featuring the ‘Vertigo Project’ by internationally acclaimed dye transfer printer and artist Jean Curran, comes to an end on the 31st of August. Launched in May, the original handmade prints have been displayed in unoccupied shop fronts and available business windows throughout the town during the summer months and have delighted both locals and visitors to Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
This is the first showing of the Vertigo Project here in Ireland, following previous exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London. This experiential art exhibition of dye transfer photographic prints showcases original prints from the Technicolor movie, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller Vertigo. In her work, Jean references not only early colour film, but also the nostalgia related to the golden era of full colour film making and early colour film processes.
Contemporary Waterford artist Jean Curran is one only four dye transfer printers operating in the world today. Dye-transfer printing is a full-colour photographic printing process that was popular between the 1920s and the 1950s. The process by which Jean Curran makes her prints is deeply laborious and technical. It involves applying sequentially, by hand, three layers of dye; cyan, magenta, and yellow, to one emulsion layer. The works follow the linear structure of the film, the isolation of key scenes demonstrate the opulence and use of colour through each of the works shown.
Jean Curran and the Dungarvan Art Trail were featured on the RTE One Nationwide programme on the 28th May. Viewers were treated to behind-the-scenes interview in the artist studio, a glimpse of the process and got to meet the artist. Following the broadcast there was a notable increase of visitors to the town of Dungarvan, with one local shop owner stating that ‘Lots of people in the shop have said they came to Dungarvan specifically to see the pieces after seeing the artist on Nationwide.’
Funded by Creative Ireland (Waterford) and the Waterford City & County Council Arts Office, the Dungarvan Art Trail experience has enlivened and animated the overall façade of the buildings, enhancing the immersive experience. The success of the exhibition would not have been possible without the local support from the businesses and the public in Dungarvan and the county.
For more information and a map of where to follow the immersive trail, go to www.dungarvanarttrail.ie and experience the exhibition yourself before the 31st of August.
