I was delighted to collaborate with Cecilia Bullo on making her new artwork, “Oh Toads of the river, grieve. Oh Toads of the wetlands, Lament for me. Oh Land, grieve for me. 2023/24”.
It was an intense shoot, not least because she had approximately 18.5 kilos of jesmenite sculptures of toads perched on her airways throughout. I first met Cecilia by chance when I saw her show Being Haunted by the Breezes, Now How Will You Exist? at the Royal Hibernian Academy. I was very taken with the horde of toad sculptures all facing into a corner of the dimly-lit gallery, and was intrigued when I saw a note on the wall saying that they were available to buy. When I asked about this at the reception desk downstairs they told me I could just take whichever ones I wanted from the exhibit. I went back upstairs, announced to the several people watching that I’d been given permission to remove some toads and made my way towards the exit. A figure came out the darkness, wreathed in smiles. This was Cecilia. She was delighted I liked her toads and informed me they were made from ‘Jesmenite, toad DNA and spells”. “What kind of spells?” I asked.
“Good ones” she replied.
This work is part of Distinct, an exhibition in Project Arts Centre curated by Alan James Burns which explores the climate crisis through the perspective of disability. From the exhibition notes: “Cecilia Bullo presents a large-scale photographic work that reformulates cast sculptures of toads as a wearable assemblage on her body, exploring material cultures relating to rituals of healing and transformation through mythological, archaeological, feminist and ecological lenses.”
Artwork by Cecilia Bullo.
Curatorial direction by AlanJames Burns.
Production support by Marie Farrington.
Photography by Conor Horgan.
Photographic assistance by Sara Pirani
Makeup by Christopher Mc Cormack.
The exhibition runs until April 20th in Project Arts Centre, Dublin.
Thanks to Leanne Sullivan for the gallery photo of me with Cecilia and my intern Sara Pirani, who assisted on the shoot.
I made this portrait of one of Cecilia’s toads in my studio. Apparently she’s called Lucille.
