Ronan McCrea

Metallography (Grain Structures, ‘I think in Shapes: Henry Moore’, with soundtrack after Delia Derbyshire)

Metallography (Grain Structures, ‘I think in Shapes: Henry Moore’, with soundtrack after Delia Derbyshire)

Referencing the study of the microstructure of metallic alloys in its title, Metallography (…) splices together two types of found image: close-up and microscopic images of metals, from a collection of 1972 BBC instructional films on mechanical engineering, with images of bronze sculptures taken from ‘I think in Shapes: Henry Moore’, a documentary also produced by the BBC, which featured the Moore’s outdoor exhibition at Tate Gallery London in 1968.

The BBC documentary ‘I Think in Shapes’ originally featured sound effects based on recordings of a hand striking Moore’s hollow bronze sculptures, produced by electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire in 1968. For this work, McCrea has collaborated with artist, writer and daughter Eva Richardson McCrea to produce a new soundtrack based on field recordings of striking Henry Moore’s bronze Standing Figure: Knife Edge 1961, located in St. Stephens Green Dublin.

Within the installation the 25.8 metres of film is looped in the space via spools fixed to the ceiling.

 

Exhibition History:

MATERIAL(s) solo exhibition, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin,  1 Dec 2016 – 25 Feb 2017.

Excerpt and installation documentation here: