Cladach agus Cnoc - Shoreline and Mountains
Cladach agus Cnoc
Jim Manley
Is fada ceangal ag Jim Manley le Contae Dhún na nGall. Tá sé ag teacht chun na háite seo le chóir a bheith tríocha bliain, agus i ngach uile shéasúr, ar mhaithe le siúl agus le pictiúirí a tharraingt. Is siúltóir iontach dáiríre é Jim, chomh maith le hiascaire, agus is sna comhthéacsanna seo a aimsíonn sé a chuid foinsí. Thaínig Jim ar an tsaol i St. Helens, i Lancashire, sa bhliain 1934 ach bhog sé go Tuaisceart Éireann i 1971 agus le dhá bhliain déag tá cónaí air cois cladaigh i gCill Locha, Co. an Dúin. De thairbhe an taithí atá aige a bheith ina chónaí ag taobh na farraige, mothaíonn sé an tábhacht atá le 'cladach' mar theorainn idir an talamh agus an fharraige, críoch nach bhfuil ach beagán taisceolaíochta déanta uirthi go fóill.
Tá cuid pictiúirí Jim an-ealaíonta, fineálta ach beoga san am chéanna agus tugann siad sonc beag dár gcoinsias, sóisialta nó comhshaoil. Tá colláis fhothairseachúil i ndórnán dá chuid pictiúr den fharraige, den chladach agus den talamh agus is é an dearcadh fothairseachúil seo a chuireann in iúl dúinn gurb é seo ealaíontóir a chuireann rudaí de dhroim seoil go ciúin. Tugann Jim Manley dúinne, an lucht féachána, an rud atá muid a iarraidh - tírdhreachanna atá lán d'atmaisféar, imchochallú úr ar ár dtimpeallacht. Arís agus arís, taispeánann sé áilneacht dúinn a bhfuil muid chomh cleachtaithe sin léi nach dtugann muid an aird uirthi a ba chóir dúinn a thabhairt, rud a d'fhéadfadh a bheith contúirteach. Tá imní air faoin bhagairt atá an duine a dhéanamh ar an nádúr agus an méid a d'fhéadfeadh muid a chailleadh dá bharr sin. I láthair na huaire, is gnó millteanach mór atá in iascaireacht farraige, tá trálaeireacht eagraithe ann, tá earraí plaisteacha agus bruscar caite thart fá na cladaí agus fá na claíocha agus tá barraíocht innilte a dhéanamh ar an talamh. Tchí an t-ealaíontóir iomlán seo, agus tuilleadh, le linn dó a bheith ar a chuid siúlóidí agus cé nach bhfuil a léiriú air seo neamh-mheánach i gcónaí, tá sé soiléir.
Rinne Jim tagairt roimhe seo do dhán a chum Gerard Manley Hopkins , "God's Grandeur" óna gcuireann na línte seo a leanas a chuid smaointe in iúl;
"And all wears...man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent."
Ní duine duairc atá i Jim Manley, is ealaíontóir é a bhfuil dearcadh éagoiteann aige agus modh ar leith aige chun an tuigbheáil sin a mhíniú dúinn. Bíonn sceitleabhar ina phóca i gcónaí agus déanann se a chuid líníocht ón fhoinse bunaidh. "Tá sé d'fhiacha ort amharc ar rudaí nuair atá tú ag tarraingt" a deir sé. Tugann sé na "nótaí" seo ansin go dtí an stiúideo, áit a bhfágann sé ar leataobh iad go dtí go dtagann eilimintí éagsúla le chéile. Baineann sé úsáid as páipéar athchúrsaithe, céirfhriotaíoch corr uair, agus oibríonn sé ar ghrúpaí de thrí nó cheathair íomha ag an am. Úsáideann sé leachtdath éadrom nó ruaim throm agus nuair atá sin tirim oibreoidh sé le crián, dúch, gouache nó meán ar bith atá infhionraithe in uisce. Tá taispeántais rialta leitheadacha tugtha ag Jim i mBaile Átha Cliath, i mBéal Feirste, i Londain agus ar fud na hÉireann agus na Sasana. Tá a chuid saothar le feiceáil i mórán bailiúchán poiblí agus is iomaí duais atá bainte aige, ina measc duaiseanna Oireachtais, EVA Luimneach, RUA.
Shoreline and Mountains
Jim Manley
Jim Manley has a long standing relationship with Donegal, he has been walking and drawing here in all seasons for nearly thirty years. Jim is a serious walker and a long-time fisherman and it is in these contexts that he draws his sources. Born in St. Helens, Lancashire in 1934 Jim moved to Northern Ireland in 1971 and for the past twelve years has lived by the shore in Killough, Co. Down. His experience of living beside the sea has made him aware of the importance of ‘shoreline’ as a frontier between land and, what is still largely, the unexplored world of the sea.
Jim’s painting are highly skilled, delicate yet vibrant, they also gently nudge our conscience, social or environmental. Some of his pictures of the sea, shoreline and land contain subliminal collage and it is these subliminal comments that awaken us to the artist as a quiet subverter. Jim Manley gives us what we, the audience, want - rich atmospheric landscapes, fresh encapsulations of our environment. He presents to us over and over a beauty that we are dangerously taking for granted. He is concerned about man’s threat to nature and thus what we might lose. Sea fishing is now a huge concern, trawling is regulated, plastic and debris litter our shorelines and hedgerows, the land is over grazed. The artist sees all of this and more on his hikes and whilst his comment is not always immediate, it is clear.
In the past Jim has quoted Gerard Manley Hopkin’s poem, “God’s Grandeur” these lines reflect his thinking;
“And all wears...man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent”.
Jim Manley is no pessimist, he is an artist with an original perspective and an original means by which to describe that understanding. With always a sketchbook in his pocket he draws from the primary source, “drawing makes you look at things” he says. These “notes” then move to the studio where they wait until various elements coalesce. He works on recycled paper sometimes wax-resistant and groups of three or four images at a time. He will use dry spare pale washes or rich staining over which he will work crayon, ink, gouache or any medium that will suspend in water. Jim has exhibited consistently and extensively in Dublin, Belfast, London and throughout Ireland and England. His work is present in many public collections and it has won many awards including Oreachtas, EVA Limerick, RUA.