Mark Sanger: 'The Wall' Part 3

The days remaining were buzzing, all working together to get the wall finished. It is amazing how the time flies when you are having fun, how much can be completed when people work together; it was however becoming evident that time was not a premium, and with a decision to lengthen the wall due to the size of gallery space in which it going to be house meant the working days started to lengthen.

The shaping, texturing and colouring of the main stones continued.

Emmet Kane scorching

Jacques Vesery, colouring one of the many objects for inclusion within the wall.

The carving of Master Xiang Dong Wang taking shape.

Myself power carving a stone into shape.

Liam O'Neill laying out and carving Ivy.

And the wall continued to grow, being expertly constructed by Brendan Hogg, Cillian Ó Súilleabháin, and John Lee

warmly referred to as Hogg and Sons.

Once the wall sections had been built, eventually four in total, they were outside where John Lee sandblasted the stones to produce a consistent texture/ageing of the carved pieces so there was a smooth transition throughout the length of the wall.

While Emmet Kane watched on.

Soon the amount of work that needed to be completed meant the wall team decided to stay into the early hours of the morning (0100) hrs, to finish sand blasting so that the final colouring stages could be completed the final day.

To keep the sandblaster filled the sand was collected, sieved and recycled.

John Lee sandblasting the sections.

Throughout the entire event Roger Bennett was tasked as the scribe for the event. Roger worked tirelessly around, among and with us to detail in both writing and recording the event, as well as interviewing each artists and member of the group in order to obtain and record all our thoughts and experiences through the week. There is certainly a lot that goes on within a collaboration other than people making shavings to make it as positive an event as possible.

Eventually the wall neared completion, final lichen and other colour accents added as well as the smaller items people had been making as found objects being first fixed to find the best locations for final setting in the gallery.

A small selection of the carved stones and objects added.

The Following day, Thursday the wall was complete and loaded into the vans for transporting to 'Visual' Gallery.

On arriving at the gallery it the wall was assembled with the found objects being added, a lighting hologram and finishing touches before the opening the next day.