Studying art on an island: Three graduate students on their Sherkin experiences
L-R: Sherkin Island visual arts graduates Sarah Wainwright, Sorcha Browning and Hammond Journeaux
The BA in Visual Art (BAVA) graduate exhibition on Sherkin Island, West Cork, is arguably the most unique degree show in the country. It runs at various locations around the island, with work being shown in historic structures and contemporary venues, as well as in the landscape itself.
BAVA is a community-based, four-year honours programme fully accredited, managed and delivered by the Dublin School of Creative Arts, Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), in partnership with Sherkin Island Development Society and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre.
This year’s graduate exhibition is called Beyond the Frame, and features the work of seven artists: Sorcha Browning, Hammond Journeaux, Sarah Wainwright, Paula Quirke, Natalie Allen, Macha and Daniel Flynn. The exhibition can be seen on Sherkin Island on May 18-19, and then transfers to Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre in Skibbereen, where it runs from May 25 to June 15. Here, we profile three of the Sherkin artists.
Sarah Wainwright worked as a care worker for some years before deciding to study art. “I started with a two-year PLC course in Skibbereen,” she says. “I didn’t think I’d go on to do a degree, but then Covid happened and I applied for BAVA.
“I live about seven miles outside Skibbereen, so I can get to Sherkin in half an hour or so. This was the only way I could do a degree. It would have been too far to travel to Cork, and I wouldn’t have had the time; I have three children, aged between 12 and 24, and I do a lot of paperwork for my husband, who works in construction.”
BAVA requires the students to attend classes every second weekend at the community centre on Sherkin. “Previous groups often stayed on the island for those weekends,” says Wainwright, “but we never got into the habit of doing that, as we were coming and going during Covid. I had to do a lot of juggling to keep up with the work at home. But I think it prepares you for life as a self-employed artist, and I’d feel a lot more confident about that, going forward.”
Wainwright had studied textiles on the PLC course in Skibbereen. “And then, during the BAVA programme, I began looking at the history of weaving on Sherkin,” she says. “Traditionally, the island people made sugán ropes out of grass, and lobster pots out of willow. Those kinds of crafts inspired me to start weaving.”
For her degree project, Wainwright decided to present her work at the 15th century Franciscan Friary, known locally as ‘the Abbey’, overlooking the pier. “I think weaving is a very mindful activity, and the Abbey is a very spiritual place. I’ve cut fabric into strips and woven them through the metal bars on the windows. I like making natural dyes, and I’ve used turmeric to dye some of the fabric a mustard yellow colour, like gorse in the landscape. I’ve also got work on a wooden frame, and a freestanding loom as a piece of sculpture.”
TU Dublin launched an MA in Art and Environment on Sherkin in 2020, and Wainwright may apply for that at some point. “But I won’t go straight into it,” she says. “I’d like to take some time to chase up funding and organise some exhibitions of my work. But it is something I’d like to do in the future. Other graduates have ended up teaching on the course, and I could see myself doing that.”
Hammond Journeaux was born in Wyndham, New Zealand, but she has lived in Ballydehob, about seven miles from Sherkin, for nearly thirty years. What brought her so far from home? “An Irishman,” she laughs. “I met him in London, and we moved over in 1996.” Journeaux had heard about BAVA around the time it launched as a pilot programme in 2000. “I couldn’t have done it then, when the children were young,” she says. “But I promised my mother before her passing that I would go back and study art, and I did.”
When Journeaux began the programme in 2020, Covid restrictions meant that there was a lot of blended learning. “Only three of us could be on the island at one time,” she says. “I was surprised at how much work was involved. It was a huge commitment, but the tutors – Jesse Jones, David Beatty and Naomi Sex - were really exceptional.”
As a cancer survivor, Journeaux decided to make cancer treatment the focus of her degree show. “That led on to an interest in how female genitalia are depicted in art, and I began researching Sheila-na-gigs. In school in New Zealand, we studied Maori wood carvings, and I could see similarities to the Sheila-na-gigs, which are found here in medieval graveyards.
“What the Sheila-na-gigs actually mean is open to interpretation, but I see them as agents of disruption, transformation and change.” Before starting on her degree, Journeaux had a background in drawing and illustration.
“But I learned a lot about modern technology on Sherkin,” she says. “So my degree project features photography and video, as well as soft sculpture. I’m showing my work in a space associated with the Honorah, a traditional lobster boat that was restored over twenty years ago.”
Now that she has completed her degree, Journeaux would be happy to pursue the MA programme on Sherkin. “If they’ll have me!” she says.
Sorcha Browning grew up in Ballydehob. Having travelled in Australia and the United States, she was about to leave home again when Covid hit in 2020. Facing lockdown, she applied for BAVA.
“The fact that the programme was mainly online for the first few years suited me fine, to be honest,” she says. “I’d studied filmmaking at St John’s College in Cork, which was a very practical course. The degree programme helped me find a context for my work as an artist.” Like others on the BAVA programme, Browning found herself being challenged to try out different media. “I did a lot of painting in 1st and 2nd Year,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s good to move outside your comfort zone.”
For her degree show, Browning has gone back to film. “But I find that I’m composing the images like a painter now,” she says. Her work will be shown in a space adjacent to the North Shore B&B and activity centre. “My degree project is like a collage of eight different performances, where I play different characters. It’s looking at how we are all constantly performing when we go online. I’m sort of critiquing our digital availability and interaction.
“Digital connectivity was a huge part of the experience of studying at Sherkin; it allowed us to work together, which was very positive. But there’s also a dark side to being online so much; it can suck up all your attention.”
As for what she will do next, Browning is not yet sure. “I’d like to do an MA at some point,” she says. “But not yet. Just now, I’m trying to establish myself as an artist at home in Ballydehob. I may go travelling again, and I’d love to do some artists’ residencies. I’ll see which way the wind blows.”
- BAVA, Beyond the Frame runs on Sherkin Island on May 18-19, and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre in Skibbereen from 25th May 25 to June 15.
- Further information: facebook.com/SherkinBAVisualArts; westcorkartscentre.com
