Trust Artists Unconditionally – Public Art of the 1990s | Curated by Sean Lynch
Featuring Annette Clancy, Paul Gregg, Tom Molloy, Maurice O’Connell, Garrett Phelan, Hermione Wiltshire, Theo Sims
Trust Artists Unconditionally – Public Art of 1990s Waterford is an exhibition that explores the innovation of a series of flagship public art commissions initiated by Garter Lane Arts Centre and artist Garrett Phelan between 1995 and 1999.
On streets, in football fields, a library and newspapers, artworks appeared without announcement or explanation – rather, they intervened into, confronted and contributed to the everyday life of the city. Phelan, alongside then Garter Lane director, Annette Clancy, gave no title to the programme or identified any of the events or encounters that occurred explicitly as art. Bypassing established ways in which art typically appears in public and embracing unconventional approaches and risk taking, the impact of these artworks three decades on still seem revelatory, with an abiding belief in artists to act and find new ways to critique, celebrate and investigate society. Trust Artists Unconditionally features contributions from each artist involved in the programme, alongside documents unearthed from the archives at Garter Lane.
Tom Molloy’s Lottery placed one thousand scratchcards hidden in Waterford’s Central Library. Their discovery made front page headlines on national newspapers and a search for who planned such an act. Hermione Wiltshire’s Alien appeared on a Friday, 13 November, as a centrefold spread in The Munster Express between weekly news, sports events and entertainment listings, with descriptions of vagabond behaviour in Waterford sitting beside an image of a heavily-pregnant belly as an expression of the pre-millennial tensions of the time. Theo Sims used his materials budget to sponsor Saint Joseph’s AFC, a football team long-established in the city since 1923. This took the form of the team wearing a new kit, with the word ‘ART’ emblazoned across the shirts.
Maurice O’Connell (1966-2018) became Marathon Man, running a circuit of the city centre and outlying housing estates. O’Connell considered this to be ‘top secret’ artwork, becoming an anonymous figure ensconced into the rhythms of everyday Waterford life. Paul Gregg’s Reconnaissance and Delivery (Waterford Parachute Project) appeared in various locations throughout the city as sculptural assemblages, each with a parachute attached, causing great consternation as to their purpose and origin.
Trust Artists Unconditionally – public art of 1990s Waterford is part of ongoing research into the role of art in public in Ireland by artist Sean Lynch. A free publication with an essay by Lynch is available. Elements of the exhibition were presented as part of Dreamtime Ireland, an exhibition curated by Lynch and Benjamin Stafford at VISUAL Centre of Contemporary Art, Carlow in 2025.
Image: Theo Sims, Oh When The Saints Go Marching Out, 1998
Culture Night Opening Event – Discussion and exhibition walkthrough on Friday 18 September at 6pm
Exhibitions at Garter Lane are kindly funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, Waterford City & County Council, and the Department of Social Protection.
