It is almost May, and after a year of suspended plans, I am preparing to pack my bags to fly home to Ireland. The reason? I am going home to set up my art installation 1845: Memento Mori. It is a memorial dedicated to the 19th century Irish Famine, made from thousands of handblown glass potatoes.
A year of postponed plans to show the work in Ireland, and here I am ready to launch the next chapter of a long personal story.
It all started over 15 years ago, as a solitary and private act of creativity. I was at a major milestone in my life- I was getting married, essentially putting down permanent roots here in my adopted home of America. I was acutely aware of my Irishness and wanted to preserve my cultural identity. I wanted to create a souvenir of sorts, that kept me connected with Ireland. And for me that keepsake was a simple, handblown, clear glass potato.
Potatoes are intrinsically connected with Ireland, even though they are not a native species. The potato was introduced to Ireland in the 1500s, from South America, and quickly became an extremely popular source of nutrition, especially amongst the poorest people. By the 1800s there was an almost complete dependence on the potato in the main diet. In 1845 the blight first appeared in Ireland, and over the next few years devastated the potato crop. In less than 10 years the population had halved from 8 million to 4 million – millions died and millions emigrated all over the world. Today over 70 million people worldwide claim Irish heritage.
My project took a long time to come to fruition. I was busy working for others in the arts- teaching, assisting, curating, directing other artist’s projects, all par for the course for those of us who work in creative fields.
But two years ago, I had an “AHA!” moment where a confluence of events and experiences propelled me to produce this work. I knew that it was going to take a lot of work, financial investment, dedication, and a belief in myself to make it happen.
I chose to make 1,845 handblown glass potatoes piled on top of one another to create a cairn. Cairns are universal- they serve as land markers but also can signify graves. The number 1,845 is also significant as it references the year 1845 when the potato blight came into Ireland, marking the beginning of an era of mass starvation, death, and emigration.
Once I started on this journey and began to share its progress on social media, I noticed that the work really resonated with people. The feedback and support were palpable. I realized quickly that this was not just about me as an artist creating art, but about community and shared experiences.
In order to make all the work, I hired other artists to work beside me, producing hundreds of glass potatoes a day. Each person brought their own energy and care to making every individual piece.
Our non-artist friends showed up with food and drinks while we worked. Others advised me on where to show the work, to think outside the box in terms of traditional gallery or museum settings, the list goes on, and the scope of participation is universal. In my GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to cover the shipping and presentation of the work in Ireland, over 100 people from Australia, Ireland, the USA, and Britain contributed sums of all sizes. The support has been overwhelming.
In 2019 I showed the work here in Washington State. But my dream was always to show it in Ireland. On the heels of its success here, I started reaching out to different cultural institutions in Ireland to see if there was interest in showing it, and yes, there was!
Over the past year, together with the folks in Ireland, we continued to stay in touch and forge ahead with our plans. There have been lots of twists and turns, and occasional hurdles, but we kept the course, taking it one day at a time.
So here I am. It is almost May, and after a year of suspended plans, I am preparing to pack my bags to fly home to Ireland. The first showings will be at two stunning Irish Heritage Trust properties- Strokestown Park House and Johnstown Castle, before heading up north to the Ulster Museum, and back to the National Museum of Ireland over the next few years. I am both excited and nervous.
I do not know where the piece will end up eventually. Perhaps a museum or private collector will acquire it, or maybe it will return to my studio here in Seattle. Maybe I will sell off the potatoes, creating their own kind of diaspora across the world, where each individual potato becomes a singular memento mori. To learn more about this project, please visit https://www.1845mementomori.com/, Instagram at glass_potatoes, or Twitter at https://twitter.com/stokes_glass and https://twitter.com/1845mementomori. A Go Fund Me page has also been established for this important project.
Image Credit: Ian Lewis
Paula Stokes is a Seattle-based Irish artist working primarily in glass and printmaking. Stokes is also co-founder and curator at METHOD Gallery in Seattle. To follow the journey, go to https://www.1845mementomori.com.