Pieter Koning

Sculptor and Painter

Bog wood exposed

An Exhibition Of Sculptural Bog Wood Work By Artist Pieter Koning

The proposed exhibition will expose a substantial number of the viewing public to Pieter Koning, an internationally acclaimed Kerry-based artist for the first time, and - because of the timeless nature of the project - help create a vital awareness of the pressures facing the Irish environment.

Bog Oak is between 3,000 and 6,000 years old and has survived preserved in our bogs to the present day. But bog-land - like much of the Irish environment - is now under threat from the development pressures of the 21st century society.

An exhibition of this level by an artist of Pieter Koning's calibre not only presents the bog wood as modern pieces of sculpture, but also draws attention to the fragility of our existing environment in a manner that is creative, artistic, thought provoking and consciousness raising.

Proposed Exhibition Layout

The sculptures will consist of approximately 40 pieces of bog oak, bog pine and bog yew measuring between one and seven metres in height.

The pieces will be displayed in dramatically lit gallery style exhibition space, consisting of three areas (see plan). These areas will be separated from each other by 2 metres high and 3 metres long corridors created from bog wood and turf.

The first corridor - The Entrance - will be made of layers of turf. This will show the visitor the bog in sections and give a feeling - when walking through it - of travelling back in time.
Passing through the entrance corridor the visitor will enter the first display area. Here some 10 rough bog wood masterpieces will be exhibited.
These pieces will be between one metre and seven metres in height and each piece will be surrounded by turf on the floor.

The second corridor will consist of bog wood roots between 2 metres in height and 3 metres in length. The visitor will pass between these roots and enter the second exhibition area. Here sculpted pieces will be displayed creating a wonderful and amazing transformation: from the rough bog wood into fully realised art forms. Area 2 will consist of some 20 bog oak, bog pine and bog yew sculptures measuring from half a metre to three and a half metres in height.

The viewer will be able to walk between these pieces - almost as if they were still growing and alive - to look up and around, to see and feel the presence of an ancient forest which has been reshaped and manipulated by the artist, creating a modern environmental space full of wonder and imagination.

Some pieces will be in their original state, showing the tree as if it were some six thousand years ago. Others will be sculpted - some to such a degree that only a live line remains, transforming the wood into art. By exposing the bog wood in this manner an effect of time and growth will be created, an effect that enhances the viewer's sense of wonder. When the original trees were alive and growing, what was the country like? Who may have sat beneath them? How many secrets do they hold? Where to now?

The third exhibition area will be accessed through an entrance made from a piece of bog wood approximately 2.5 metres high and 3 metres long. This area will contain 2 large tables 1.75 metres in diameter, one with bog oak legs and the other with bog pine legs. Against the wall on both sides will be 2 smaller half tables. The centre space will contain 4 bog oak chairs. Here the visitor may sit a while and listen to specially composed music and view the accompanying video.

In order to give the project an extra dimension music and video will accompany the exhibition. A Composer/Musician will be commissioned to create a piece of music to accompany the exhibition; the composition will be inspired by the bog wood sculptures. A documentary video will be produced about bog wood; its history and the transformation process from its untreated state to the completed bog wood sculptures.