Dublin Airport’s latest art installation – a mural entitled ‘Light Years’ by renowned artist James Earley - can now be enjoyed by passengers transiting between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
The concept of Light Years focuses on the idea that time and light are intrinsically linked; light links our past to our present and our future.
Earley, who was originally a graffiti artist, has been producing abstracted figurative works since 2010.
“We are honoured to feature James’ work at Dublin Airport so it can be enjoyed and appreciated by passengers and by airport staff,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. “This is the seventh installation in our Sense of Place project, which is designed to bring different facets of Ireland to our passengers, even if they are connecting at Dublin and never leave the airport,” Mr Harrison added.
“Both individually and collectively these installations transform the visual landscape of Dublin Airport for our passengers. Dublin Airport provides the first welcome and last goodbye to Ireland for tens of millions of people every year and Light Years’ successfully gives a sense of Ireland’s rich artistic heritage and beauty.”
Artist James Earley said the mural, “is inspired by a modern Ireland, an Ireland in which we take pride in our rich artistic, family and natural heritage and develop and preserve it, taking it to new and exciting places, promoting our island globally and reinforcing the fact that Ireland has been, is and will always be a centre of artistic excellence.”
The mural shows how light and travel work together in the magnificence and beauty of a bird in flight. The seagull is used as a symbol of the natural heritage of Ireland and the beauty of the Irish landscape is reflected in the colours of the piece.
“It’s amazing to have been given the opportunity to showcase a piece of my work to such a large audience,” Earley added.
Earley’s distinctive style celebrates and pays homage to his family's artistic past within Irish stained-glass art. The family business, Earley and Co. Studios, dates back to 1852 and dominated Dublin’s stained-glass scene for decades. He has been producing artworks in public spaces since 1997 and is well known for a number of his previous works. In 2014, he painted Blooms Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar. The project took one year to complete and is the largest public artwork in Ireland to date.
Almost 24.2 million passengers have travelled through Dublin Airport in the first nine months of the year, a 6% increase when compared to the same period last year. Dublin Airport has welcomed an extra 1.4 million passengers in the first nine months of the year.
Dublin Airport has flights to almost 190 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines.
Image above: Light Years by artist James Earley which is on display for passengers to enjoy transiting between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.