HEADLESS URBAN EXPRESSION

BY THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER

Murals

I IMMEDIATELY KNEW THAT THIS ART WAS BY CLAIRE PROUVOST

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MURALS AT TARA STREET STATION

Claire Prouvost is a French graphic designer and illustrator living and working in Dublin. She loves to paint women in a cubist inspired style, using gouaches for their vibrant colours. Her colourful work plays with shapes, contrast, and composition to show the simple beauty of things in our daily lives.

Today I used my Sony 85mm GM lens with the Sony FX30 so it was effectively a 127mm lens. This is supposed to be one of the best lens that I own and it has been described as the ultimate portrait prime. The perfect 85mm F1.4 portrait lens with outstanding sharpness dissolving to magnificent bokeh. I obtained a copy on the day that it became available here in Ireland in advance of any genuine reviews. I immediately discovered that it made a horrible grating noise while focusing. According to some reviews that I came across months later “The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens has a focusing system that makes some noise. It sounds a little like metal scraping or a linear piezo motor even though it’s an SSM motor. It’s much quieter in video AF mode. Nearly silent.”.

I brought my copy back to the dealer and the told me that it would take a month or two to get a replacement so I decided to keep my copy on condition that I could replace it at some later date.

Here are some of the reviews of the Sony 85mm GM lens:

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a superb lens that delivers outstanding image quality. It is sharp, contrasty, and has beautiful bokeh. The autofocus is fast and accurate, and the lens is weather-sealed. It is an excellent choice for portrait photographers.” – DPreview

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a top-of-the-line portrait lens that offers excellent image quality and performance. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. It is a bit on the expensive side, but it is worth the investment for serious portrait photographers.” – The Phoblographer

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a fantastic lens that delivers excellent image quality in a variety of situations. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. It is a bit on the large and heavy side, but it is still a great choice for portrait photographers.” – Cameralabs

Overall, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a highly rated lens that is well-suited for portrait photography. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. However, it is also a bit on the expensive side.

THIS MURAL IS TO REMAIN ON THE GABLE WALL AT LONGWOOD AVENUE

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A TRIBUTE TO DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

Today I had an appointment at Harolds’s Cross so I decided to walk there and visit Longwood Avenue, on my way, in order to check if this large mural had survived the legal and official attempts to have it removed.

In June 2022 it was announced that Dublin City Council was to drop its prosecution of art group Subset for three prominent street murals – including this one celebrating the life of David Attenborough.

In November 2019 I upload photographs of this mural and included the following comment: “Dublin City Council has ordered that a mural of David Attenborough on the side of a property in south Dublin should be removed. An entity or group known as Subset had recently created the Street Art tribute to David Attenborough on his 93rd birthday.”

The David Attenborough Mural is a large-scale street mural located on the gable wall of a house on South Circular Road facing onto Longwood Avenue in Dublin 8, Ireland. It was painted in 2019 by the artist collective SUBSET to mark the renowned naturalist and broadcaster’s 93rd birthday. The mural depicts Attenborough in his signature khaki jacket and hat, standing next to a group of animals, including a penguin, a lion, and an elephant. The mural is vibrantly coloured and features a stylised depiction of the natural world.

The mural was controversial from the start, as it was painted without planning permission from Dublin City Council. The council eventually ordered the mural to be removed, but this decision was met with widespread public opposition. A petition to save the mural attracted over 10,000 signatures, and the council eventually dropped its prosecution of the artists.

The David Attenborough Mural is now considered to be a popular tourist attraction in Dublin. It is a reminder of the city’s vibrant street art scene and its appreciation for the natural world.

HOODED YOUTH MURAL BY JOE CASLIN

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LOWER MALLOW STREET LIMERICK

Sadly the death of Sinéad O’Connor was announced Yesterday 26 July 2023.

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor;(8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O’Connor, was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, “Nothing Compares 2 U”, was named the number-one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

I thought that I had photographed a mural of Sinead O’Connor in Limerick back in June 2015 but when I checked I discovered that I had a number of images of a mural that I was unable to identify until now [27 July 2023] and I don’t know why I believed that the mural were associated with the singer.

I have now established that the artist was Joe Caslin.

Joe Caslin is an Irish street artist, art teacher and activist. Best known for his beautifully rendered pencil drawings, which manifest as towering pieces of street art. His highly accessible work engages directly with the social issues of modern Ireland, on an unavoidable scale. Caslin confronts the subjects of suicide, drug addiction, economic marginalisation, marriage equality, stigma in mental health, direct provision, institutional power, consent and most recently, the effects of the Covid19 pandemic on young people. The monochrome drawings Caslin creates live with us and against many of us for some time before washing away. They hold a mirror up to the kind of society that we are, whilst asking us individually what kind of society we want to be a part of.

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor;(8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O’Connor, was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, “Nothing Compares 2 U”, was named the number-one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

CITY FOXES BY SHANE SUTTON

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VINCENT’S AT DRUMCONDRA END OF DORSET STREET

“City Foxes” by Shane Sutton Art on Dorset Street: Shane is an highly skilled artist with a fervent passion for multiple disciplines, including traditional painting, film-making, and street art. His diverse range of talents spans various mediums, and his current focus is on street, canvas, and digital art, which he explores through his street art persona, SPACER. Shane’s work embodies the intersection of art and technology, producing technically resonant works that delve into themes and ideas in innovative and unexpected ways.

Shane’s notable achievements include an art residency with the European Space Agency (ESA UK) and winning the Graffiti without Gravity street art competition with the ESA (Holland). As a painter, he has created a body of work that explores a wide range of subjects, from the impact of technology on our lives to themes within the street art genre. Shane’s contributions to film have also garnered significant recognition, with multiple awards from international film festivals and a nomination for best editing at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) was founded in Ireland in 1844. It is the largest voluntary charitable organisation in Ireland. During its history, it has helped people in need through Famine, a Civil War, a War of Independence, two World Wars and several economic recessions.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organisation in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.

Innumerable Catholic parishes have established “conferences”, most of which affiliate with a diocesan council. Among its varied efforts to offer material help to the poor or needy, the Society also has thrift stores (charity shops in Ireland such as Vincent’s) which sell donated goods at a low price and raise money for the poor. There are a great variety of outreach programs sponsored by the local conferences and councils, addressing local needs for social services.

THIS MURAL IS PROMOTING EYES GUTS THROAT BONES A BOOK BY MOIRA FOWLEY

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CHANCERY STREET BESIDE FEGAN’S 1924 CAFE

According to Google Maps Fegan’s Cafe is currently closed which is a pity.

Moïra Fowley lives in Dublin with her girlfriend and her two daughters. Half French and half Irish, she is the author of four critically acclaimed YA novels. Eyes Guts Throat Bones is her first book for adults.

What will the end of the world look like?
Will it be an old man slowly turned to gold, flowers raining from the sky, or a hole cut through the wire fencing that keeps the monsters out?
Is it someone you love wearing your face, or a good old fashioned inter-dimensional summoning?
Does it sound like a howl outside the window, or does it look like coming home?
This startling and irresistibly witty collection from the phenomenally talented Moïra Fowley is an exploration of all our darkest impulses and deepest fears.

MURAL ON DRINAN STREET OFF SULLIVAN’S QUAY IN CORK

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DANU BY KITSUNE JOLENE

Kitsune Jolene is from Ghent, Belgium and is known for her colourful and emotive works and dreamy depictions, drawing inspiration from personal life stories or mythology and folklore.

I had never heard of Drinan Street until I photographed this large mural.

Coláiste Éamann Rís, now located in Turner’s Cross, is the oldest school on Cork’s southside. Originally founded in 1828 on Sullivan’s Quay by the Christian Brothers, the school has evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of Cork City and its young people. The old school is now part of the Flying Enterprise bar and restaurant complex.

Both South Presentation Primary School and Sullivan’s Quay CBS (Sullie’s Quay), which once catered for many hundreds of pupils, were forced to close through falling numbers in 2006.

Urban Expression, Drinan Street, Cork City, Sullivan Quay, Kitsune Jolene, Danu, dreamy depictions, Street Art, Sullie’s Quay, William Murphy, Infomatique, Fotonique, Sony, FX30,

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