Affectionately known as "The big yellow monument in T2"
God I miss the Airport!! That monument, I've walked by it literally thousands of times working in T2 since it opened in 2010 (until the Pandemic put an abrupt end to that last year!) I never really knew the idea behind it, or even it's name.. until now. This is 'Turning Point' and was designed by Dublin based Artist Isabel Nolan
Turning Point is 28.6ft high, made in mild steel, the surface of which was primed and painted. It is a symmetrical form comprised of arcs and ellipses. The name was chosen because of the sculpture’s central location and because it suggests a moment in time, a potential turning point in innumerable personal stories from passengers passing by as they enter/leave the Country.
Speaking on publicart.ie previously, Isabel said;
Responding to an open-ended brief to make a proposal for the new Terminal in Dublin Airport, I concentrated on making a work specific to one particular location. It is a central location, passed by arriving and departing passengers, and accessible to everyone. Visually the artwork connects several storeys of the building. It is sited directly below the glass backbone of the roof and so takes advantage of the natural light. The open form sculpture occupies the space without unduly blocking it. The shape and finish were carefully considered to ensure that it was utterly unlike the rest of the building whilst still complementing it. The colour was selected because it is an in-between yellow/orange and contrasts well with the building interior. I proposed this particular work, knowing that people walking through the space and moving between floors would see it. The sculpture looks markedly different depending on your viewpoint.
Conceptually I was interested in countering the functionality of the building, which I see as a machine of a kind, designed principally to channel people efficiently. I feel an artwork of this scale, that ‘takes on’ this space attests to the existence of other kinds of knowledge or values beyond the purely utilitarian. I settled on the title because it describes the work in a literal way, it marks a threshold in the Terminal. Moreover it suggests the work designates a moment in time too, a potential turning point in innumerable narratives.
I took this picture pre-Covid times, (last March) as a casual photographer I thought it was a great subject to explore, just a pity I only remembered it was in my phone gallery now! I can't wait til we can freely go see it again and not take the sight for granted.
Until then, mind yourselves!!
Slán go fóill,
Danny
Comments