Archaic Mechanism



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"Mechanism Series"
(Installation view)
Ink, acrylic, plaster, gesso, table.

"Mechanism Series" (detail)
Ink, acrylic, MDF, plaster, gesso, table.
"Mechanism Series 6" 
Gesso and Ink on MDF

"Mechanism Series 7" 
 Acrylic and ink on MDF

"Mechanism Series 5" 
Acrylic and Ink on MDF


"A Curious Illustration of The Inclined Plane"
Ink on Paper
Obsolescence; Carboard, pen and glue; 3"x3"x5"; 2012


"Market Machine"
Exterior view


"Market Machine"
Liquid Chalk on Glass
Interior view at night.




"Market Machine"
(detail)

"City Tunnels"
Ink, pencil, photocopied images and masking tape on Fabriano
                   Dimensions 152 cm x 75 cm.

"Ringsend Water Mains"
Ink on Paper


Artist Statement

Grainne Tynan’s work explores her relationship with her physical environment through examining the social and historical underpinnings of the landscape. Her current work aims to explore the hidden mechanisms that Dublin relies on to function. Her artwork hacks into the flesh of the city, opens it up and examines the underlying structures. The system of drains, cables and tunnels under the city is rarely considered, yet without it Dublin couldn’t function. These processes are so profound that they are often ignored. The structures buried beneath us are investigated by looking at maps, photographs, historical documents and video footage. Tynan’s work is a combination of the practical and the fantastical, the modern and the ancient, the scientific and the anecdotal, the micro and the macro.



Her current work is a series of large scale drawings, stop motion animations and small sculptural objects that draw on scenes from subterranean Dublin, conveying the complexity of contemporary city habitats. The raw spontaneity of the dense and layered work evokes the dynamism of the environment. The steam engines, tunnels, turbines all highlight the industrial aesthetic; the city as a machine for living. In her attempt to conceptualise her relationship with the city and it’s component parts, she reveals an underlying complexity in the convoluted subterranean landscapes.