James Hayes

b. 1974, Ireland

My work explores a number of ideas, from consumerism to conflict, cultural identity, nostalgia, and, most recently, the role of the contemporary artist. My recent involvement in residencies and exhibitions in the US has influenced the concepts behind my work greatly, and has led me to produce film/video-based work in addition to making sculptural based installations and objects. I often use objects with an iconic or symbolic significance, and reproduce them in bronze, aluminum and, more recently, cast iron and lead (hence, changing their previous function, perception and aesthetic).

This reinventing of the object(s) as an artwork is to generate a psychological presence, or an out of context relationship within the work. Many of these objects are of a temporal, delicate nature and once they have been put through a casting process they can often be transformed, deconstructed, or partly destroyed. Now the objects seem to be immortalised or celebrated within a metal, and I often try to take them back to resemble the original with paint or patina (or not), depending on the overall concept and context of how the work is to be presented – for example, either as stand-alone work or as a component(s) of an installation work.

Most recently my concepts have centred on the the role of the contemporary artist or the position of the artist, and what that may constitute in our culture today. This is particularly in regard to reflecting a sense of time, context and concept (for the artist), which has been derived from investigating both contemporary art in context and its external and intrinsic sources of influence.

(Text: too early for vacation catalogue, 2008)