Allison Roarty
she/her
Shear Luck
"I will not follow where the path may lead but I will go where there is no path and I will leave a trail". - Rockwell Kent
Through ethnographic enquiry, my practice is characterised by a cultural transmission of shared stories of my paternal grandmother’s family in the Southwest Donegal Gaeltacht.
This installation tells the story of my great grand uncle, Dan Ward, who survived as a sheep farmer in a remote valley called Glenlough. It echoes traces of the past, whilst weaving topical themes of cultural history, agriculture and epigenetics.
Simultaneously, it corresponds to the ongoing crisis of the cost of sheep shearing in Ireland today. It costs more to shear a sheep than the price received for a fleece. Alchemy is inherent within wool, with Donegal spun yarns used in the creation of this work.
With sincere thanks to Donegal Yarns and Magee 1866 for their sponsorship.
Close-up detail
Tufted ground
A selection of sponsored yarns and tweed offcuts
Research
Ready for shearing. Dan Ward, standing in the middle between his neighbours. Early 20th century
Research material
Dan Ward's Stack by Rockwell Kent, oil on canvas, 1926