It was during an arts residency in Belmullet in 2017 that I came across the LOPs in the landscape for the first time.
I found the structures both enigmatic and haunting, and my introduction to them coincided also with my growing interest in the emerging discipline of Contemporary Archaeology. Unlike traditional archaeology, Contemporary Archaeology looks beyond linear constructs of time, to explore how the past is entangled in the present. It also emphasizes human & non-human relations to widen perceptions of how the material world is viewed & our understanding of time. This discipline has begun to inform my practice and influence concerns within my painting, both in the use of materials and development of imagery.
Struck by the haunting presence of these structures, I have continued to research the second world war Look-Out posts in other parts of Ireland’s Atlantic coast, including Kerry. I am especially interested in the LOP’s from a perspective of how the present is composed and influenced by the past. Exploring what an anomaly in a landscape can indicate, how this past emerges, the uncanny and contemporary haunting within the landscape.
