Communication Design School of Design
Niamh Smylie
As an Irish artist and photographer working within the lens-based pathway, this year, I focused my studio practice on themes such as landscape, language, and folklore. Working primarily with medium format photography, I observed the significance of ancient tales and their relationship to the land, as well as how we interact with them in the present. I worked with the Irish language as well as ancient inscribed text to communicate the importance of preservation and the rich history of our land. My main projects this year have taken the form of publications, allowing me to explore graphic design elements, pagination, and self-binding techniques. Within these publications, I explored many different processes such as lino, contact and screen printing.
Contact
Comhla bhreac
Comhla bhreac, translating to ‘a fairy entrance on a hillside or ringfort’ is a photographic exploration of landscapes all over Ireland, steeped in myth and legend. Entirely shot on medium-format film and presented within a self-bound publication, this series of images portrays the intangible presence that can be felt in these spaces, an essence of the tale that surrounds these locations.
Comhla bhreac – publication
Growing up learning about the history and folklore surrounding Irish landscapes, I found it fascinating how these different worlds co-exist, how we can stand in a space and admire it for what it is, but also how we can open ourselves up to feeling a presence within the land.
This self-bound photobook is the final outcome for my large landscape project that was developed over the eight months of my final year at GSA.
This outcome allowed me to sequence my selected images to create a flowing rhythmic experience for viewers, experiment with design elements and consider materiality and text. This sixty-eight-page publication shares a visual exploration of these popular and lesser-known locations around Ireland, including the Irish and English translations for each location name, exploring the idea of what details are strengthened once we recognise the language of the land.
Fairy Knowe
Fairy Knowe is a twenty-eight-page self-bound publication exploring the Scottish folktale of Doon Hill. This publication captures the bizarre and mysterious natural forms along the trail and evokes this sense of other beings within the location. Including a combination of medium format, 35mm and digital imagery, this publication offers a visual narrative of Robert Kirk’s fairy sightings in Aberfoyle.
Ogham
This publication was created in response to my extended essay submission focusing on Tomm Moore’s interpretation of Irish folklore and heritage in The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea.
Ogham is a sixty-four-page saddle-stitched publication exploring the ancient Celtic alphabet ‘Ogham’. It interprets the alphabet’s alternative title, ‘Celtic Tree Alphabet’ in a contemporary manner, pairing each lino-printed letter with a visual of the tree it represents. I created a range of imagery to represent each tree, including digital images and contact charcoal prints to explore the natural form of the letters.
