Michelle Boyle
Virginia , Ireland
Michelle Boyle’s work explores people and place from everyday life expressed in her distinctive spontaneous and fluid way. ‘
MessageThe Grand Canal. A few minutes’ walk away. A cacophony of action. And when there’s less I get to stare into the water. It might be still or flowing – the locks open adjusting levels. Often swans majestically command.
Sometimes I even think of the Canal St. Martin in Paris. I made a collage, titled ‘Reves Parisiens’, part of an exhibition in the United Arts Club in 2016. The place I went then, to dream – to escape – to be. But in the here and now I still dream about the Canal St. Martin and wonder, if, with some ingenuity of planning, infrastructure and architecture our relationship with the Grand Canal in Dublin might be more akin to that of the Canal St. Martin. We would need to eliminate heavy traffic and build more densely along the bank with apartments, shops and restaurants and bars. People would marvel at the canal-side location. But for now – I’ll just keep dreaming!
If it spoke the water would say, “I’m not just from here, you know. I’ve travelled. Don’t just judge me on what you see. You see, I’m not just from here. I’ve travelled. I’ve gained experiences and emotions. I’m not just from here”.
I always wonder where it started? The water. Before I saw it at this particular point. The water might be teaching me a life lesson. Like the water, people are ‘not just from here’.
Yes, the water said, “I might look like I’m from here but this isn’t where I came from. I have a story I could tell you. If, you want to listen. People sometimes just judge me on what they see. Waiting for the Suir Road luas they look across the rail and see plastic bags clung or some rusty old bike.. But that’s not me. I came from up in the mountains. It took me a while to get here. But I’m not staying. I’ll be gone soon. I’ll gather more memories along the way and someone else will look at me - maybe at Grand Canal Dock - and they’ll think I came from there - just as you thought I came from Suir Road.. And then I’ll head out into the Liffey - a tiny drop - but I was somebody. I am somebody.