Tom dePaor: ‘i see Earth’ building and ground 1991-2021

'i see Earth’ presents an ambitious large-scale installation of sculptural work by one of Ireland’s foremost architects, Tom dePaor. The exhibition spans his practice from 1991-2021 through the media of sculpture, film, drawing, and writing. Curated and commissioned by Nathalie Weadick, ‘i see Earth’ is produced by VISUAL Carlow and the Irish Architecture Foundation and supported by the Arts Council.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is an epic installation comprised of 2km of 6mm round bar steel which brings to life the familiar Willow Pattern, reconstituted as a 3D drawing of some of dePaor’s iconic works previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale and elsewhere. The linear form turns architectural drawing into an immersive experience. Hand painted in cobalt blue, the installation is suspended from the ceiling of the main gallery, artificially lit and acoustically scored by a diptych of films by dePaor's long-term collaborator Peter Maybury. The exhibition also incorporates excerpts from dePaor’s prose poem ‘previous, next’ and premieres a new documentary by Maybury.

‘i see Earth’ creates an architectural experience that breaks down conventions and reimagines the way architecture is presented. Beyond a retrospective, ‘i see Earth’ reconfigures Tom dePaor’s work as an imaginative world of possibilities.