Cork in 50 Artworks, No 6: Kindred Spirits, Choctaw famine sculpture, Midleton
Callie Armstrong, Lillie Roberts and Mandy Lawson of the Choctaw Nation, Oklahoma. in Midleton at the official dedication of Kindred Spirits in 2017. Picture: Jim Coughlan
The power of art to connect, inspire and tell a story is beautifully and powerfully encapsulated in Kindred Spirits, a distinctive and much-loved sculpture, located at Bailick Park in Midleton. Created by Alex Pentek, the piece was commissioned by Cork County Council in 2013 and commemorates the donation of $170 (a huge sum for the time) by the Choctaw Nation to the Irish people during the Famine.
The piece, referred to locally as ‘the feathers’, comprises nine 20ft-high stainless steel feathers, each one unique, in the shape of an empty bowl. It is a feat of artistic ingenuity, design and engineering, taking heavy-duty materials and making them appear as light and delicate as the air that blows through them.
