"The Healing Tree" by Brian Connolly
Owner: Antrim Area Hospital Location: 45 Bush Road, Antrim (Main entrance) Title: ‘The Healing Tree’ Artist: Brian Connolly Material: Bronze Cast Size: Height 1.2m Funded by: Artscare; James P Corry Holdings Ltd; Doran and Partners; Isherwood and Ellis; Murland Partnership; W H Stephens and Sons; The Arts Council of Northern Ireland; British Enkalon Foundation; Scarva Pottery; and Weir and McQuiston. Background: Connolly’s bronze cast sculpture, The Healing Tree, 1994 sited in the Hospital Forecourt, has as its theme ‘mutual support’ and represents a self-supporting unit of two men and two women. The hollowed-out figures are in a sitting position, about 1.2 metres high. They are positioned in a circle, facing outwards, with each supporting the other. The rear surface of the figure is textured with elements of bandages and embedded leaves. According to Connolly, the tree, an ornamental Norwegian Maple, is "symbolic of life around which we are placed". Artists Details: Brian Connelly was born in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. He studied sculpture at the University of Ulster, Belfast. He has had a number of exhibitions nationally and internationally with venues including the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, the Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Banff Centre, Canada and the City Arts Centre, Dublin. Connelly is on the Editorial Board of Circa. He is currently based in Bushmills. Connelly’s work negotiates universal themes surrounding the human senses, particularly sight and human experience. Throughout his work, the artist has been intrigued by the concept of time. |
