Marie Connole: Art inspired by the seaweed of her native county
Marie Connole, and her seaweed-art piece 'Freefall'.
Growing up on a small farm in Co Clare, Marie Connole was exposed to both the natural world and stories of the supernatural. Both have provided inspiration for Dúlamán na Farraige, her new exhibition of paintings at Clare Museum in Ennis. As its title suggests – Dúlamán na Farraige is the name of a variety of seaweed – her paintings feature images of the shore, but these are peopled by figures that seem more otherworldly than human.
“I’m from Liscannor, near the Cliffs of Moher,” says Connole. “All through my childhood, I was immersed in folklore. Everything in the environment – all the rocks and fields and trees – had a name or a story behind it, and that really colours your perspective of the landscape.
