Lest we forget: Irish artist's Famine installation debuts in her family's hometown
Paula Stokes puts the finishing touches to her Famine Memorial installation in the gardens of Strokestown Park & The National Famine Museum, Roscommon, earlier this year. Picture: Brian Farrell
While it's trite for any writer to reach for a reference to potatoes when speaking about Wexford, an upcoming exhibition at the county's Johnstown Castle Estate taps into its role in our history — using art to eulogise those lost in the Great Famine.
'1845: Memento Mori': an installation of 1,845 hand-blown glass potatoes created by Seattle-resident, Irish artist Paula Stokes, opens on Saturday after coming in for critical acclaim in galleries around the world — finally arriving at her paternal family's hometown.
