01 June 2021
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Glass potatoes exhibited in memory of 1845 famine
A NEW exhibition featuring hundreds of glass potatoes to represent the suffering caused by the potato famine has opened at Strokestown Park in Co Roscommon, Ireland.
The installation of 1,845 hand-blown glass potatoes is called '1845: Memento Mori' and took 15 years to complete.
The work is being presented outdoors at the historical gazebo tower within the walled gardens of The National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park until 10 July.
The exhibition, created by Seattle-based Irish artist Paula Stokes, kicks off a multi-venue tour over the next few years.
1845 is significant as it references the year that the potato blight came to Ireland, marking the beginning of a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration.
Dr Emma O'Toole, Collections and Interpretation Manager at the Irish Heritage Trust, which cares for and manages the property, said it is fitting that the first venue for the Irish artist on Irish soil is at the famine museum.
"The story of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s has particular resonance at Strokestown. Tenants on the estate were hugely impacted, many emigrated or died, and a previous owner of the house and local landlord, Major Denis Mahon was assassinated in November 1847 at the height of the famine," she said.
Source: RTE
