The Complex Gallery presents 'Underwave', a new visual arts exhibition in Dublin by Bettina Seitz.
'Underwave' delves into the rich history of human arrivals in Sligo and the North West, tracing the journey from the earliest Neolithic settlers to the diverse modern multicultural society. This project features sculptures by Bettina Seitz, which were temporarily installed within the tidal zones of Sligo Bay. Videographer Fionn Rogers filmed these sculptures underwater and edited them with sound design by Joe Hunt and Patrick Hallinan. The footage was streamed over four days for the Tread Softly festival, showcasing the sculptures as they succumbed to and re-emerged from successive tides.
(Bettina Seitz, An Cailleach (from Walking Birds Mountain I for Tread Softly 2018), sculpture in cotton fabric and Jesmonite, Triptych by photographer Mike Bunn.)
'Underwave' aims to foster a deeper, empathetic connection to the underwater environment—a realm often perceived as alien—highlighting its importance as a precious space that needs protection and care during this critical period of human history. The sculptures' placement in such a dynamic location symbolises the significant interplay between human presence and the landscape, our millennia-long dependence on the shoreline, and our shared vulnerability with the fragile coastal ecosystem.
(Bettina Seitz, photo from Underwave installation in Sligo Inner Bay, photographer Niall Henry.)
The Sligo coastline, one of Ireland's earliest sites of human habitation, was settled from the sea following the last Ice Age. Underwave resonates with this historical context, illustrating how cultures continuously evolve with the arrival of new people who become part of the community. The project draws clear parallels with contemporary issues of global migration, emphasising the ongoing transformation and integration of cultures.
(Bettina Seitz, video still from Underwave, 2020, photographer Fionn Rogers.)
Bettina Seitz is a German-born visual artist living in the North-West of Ireland. She works across sculpture, installation and collaborative film projects. Her practice is concerned with our connection to the ‘Other’ - how we relate as human beings to each other to how we relate to the ‘Other’ in the sense of our interconnections beyond space and time and the human realm. Recently she explores these through sculpture installations and short film projects in remote coastal locations engaging with landscape, history, and mythology. Using life-castings to create life-like hollow sculptures, the absence of the figure resonates a ghost-like human presence at the same time and evokes associations with the past and otherness. Seitz studied sculpture at the Freie Kunstakademie, Nürtingen, Germany and is a graduate of the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti, Turin, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely and worked on many public and private art commissions both in Ireland and internationally. Her works are included in private and public collections.
(Bettina Seitz, video still from Underwave, 2020, photographer Fionn Rogers.)
Opening night for 'Underwave' will take place on Thursday, August 15th from 6-9pm. There will be refreshments served, and The Complex bar will be open after the show so you can stick around and enjoy a chat with other art-lovers!
(Bettina Seitz, video still from Underwave, 2020, photographer Fionn Rogers.)