Amber Broughton’s new exhibition focuses on wildlife, specific to Allihies
Where are you from?
I grew up close to the town of Castletownbere on the Beara Peninsula, down a wild boreen that leads straight down to the sea. I have lived my whole life in Beara, with the exception of the four years I spent living in and around Barrack Street, Cork City, attending what is now MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, where I received my honours bachelor degree in Fine Art. Here I spent countless hours in the life drawing room, refining my drawing skills.
I am grateful for expert guidance I received by artist and educator Megan Eustace who was the life drawing tutor in the college at the time.
What’s the exhibition Beautiful Blow-ins about?
When I began working on ‘Beautiful Blow-Ins’, I knew I wanted to pay homage to the nature rich qualities of the Beara Peninsula in some way. The show’s location of Allihies was inspiring to me in itself, as despite its rugged and wild character, it supports many interesting wildlife species. As I researched, a theme began to emerge where I was noticing the more unusual and colourful birds, jellyfish and butterflies that arrive as visitors to the Allihies throughout the year. As Allihies is the kind of place that blooms with diverse and interesting people as summer comes around, I felt I had found a connection between the movements of nature and people, and I saw similarity in their common draw to spend time on this land. The art exhibition is suitable for all ages.
How long does each piece of work take?
Each coloured pencil drawing in this show took between 12 and 25 hours to complete. I work from photographs that I either take myself, or that I have permission to use from a photographer, either directly or from copyright-free sites online. Part of the ethics of my work is that its viewers can “meet” the creature in the work, feel connected to it and share space with it, while at the same time, the actual creature is left undisturbed in its natural habitat.
What’s next for you?
I have an ongoing drawing project, where I am documenting ephemeral states of nature, (insects, animals, mushrooms, plants) in various stages of being, that are indicative of specific times of year. For example, the first sighting of the swallow bird, the newly reddened berries on a holly tree, the first primrose of the spring. It started off as a personal mindfulness exercise, looking at re-adjusting my own living pace, to feel more aligned with myself and my environment. I think visually, the culmination of these drawings will make for an interesting exhibition and I am enjoying delving deeper into this concept with environmental philosophy lecturer Nora Ward, with whom I was invited to collaborate on an article around the subject.
• Beautiful Blow-ins runs until November 2nd at Allihies Copper Mine Museum
