A Flamingo Has Landed in Dundalk
AAEX were kindly invited to provide a contribution to the closing event of the Seek Festival 2020, planned for the 8th of August at the Spirit Store.
In the spirit of connecting to the town’s history, AAEX members decided to create an installation of an oversized flamingo sculpture with mechanical wings to commemorate the flamingo, which in 1985 took residency at Dundalk Bay and drew large crowds, even prompting a photo competition in the Argus. The AAEX Flamingo was originally meant to be installed at the small island opposite the Spirit Store, the habitat of the original one. However, as that event had to be cancelled due to the postponement of Phase 4 of the easing of Covid 19 restrictions, it was installed on the roof of the Dundalk Tourist Information on Market Square instead and became part of the attractions in town, intended to attract visitors like its original predecessor.
It managed to put a smile on many people’s faces as a lighthearted edition to all the other fantastic artworks that went up during the Seek Festival!
We enjoyed producing the flamingo as an opportunity to collaborative work coming out of lockdown and before more stringent COVID restrictions were re-introduced.
Impressions
Production and Installation
Cardboard Prototypes
Some photos of the original flamingo and background info
Main photo: Isabel Lapuyade
Photos of the original flamingo courtesy of Charley Mc Carthy and Joe Quigley from the Dundalk Northend and Friends Facebook group.
AAEX (Art As Exchange) 