It is not common for the First World War to provide inspiration for poetry or, indeed textile art, as one would struggle to find much beauty in the subject matter. In 2017, Jane Clarke was invited to write a sequence of poems in response to the Auerbach family archive which consisted of family photos, documents and letters giving a unique insight into how the war affected the members the family. From this trove Jane was moved to produce 21 poems, one of which, ‘Ling‘ in turn inspired artist Marie Dunne to make ‘The Message’, a large, striking hanging. It turns out that the personal experiences and written words of those involved and impacted by war can provide inspiration and some beauty.

A sprig of heather falling
from his sister's letter
carries him home
to the slopes of Slieve Donard -
a sea of honey-scented ling,
purple flowers teeming with bees.

Ling, Jane Clarke

It was initially the descriptions of nature, the heather growing low on mountain tops, that drew Marie to the poem. It describes the correspondence between brother and sister, Albert and Lucy Auerbach, and the reminder of home in the form of a sprig of heather that Lucy included in one of the last letters Albert received on the front line. Albert joined up on the first day of the war and died two months before it ended.

For Marie, ideas of resilience in the face of adversity and the strength of the siblings relationship were central in her creative thinking. A circular shape to represent the cycle of life, a simplified motif for a heather flower and even the purple heart medal all came to mind in her planning – her love of the colour purple was an undeniable influence also. The base fabric for this large hanging is Lutradur which was painted and burnt in places to create holes. The heather flower motifs were made using tulle and free machine embroidery.

‘New Beginning’ is Marie’s second piece in the exhibition, based on the poem ‘The Key‘. Jane’s poem about moving into a new home with her partner, reminded Marie of the first days in her family home as a child and the symbolism of ‘getting the key’. The joy of having a secure tenancy, a garden to be tilled and planted by her father, a West of Ireland man well used to working the soil. The novelty of having a stair that she and her siblings could run up and down, lingering to play on the big step on the turn.

Repurposing previous artworks, Marie created her third work, ‘June‘ in response to the poem of the same name. She reimagined, reworked, cut, shaped and stitched what was a flat collage made of lutradur, into a sculpture of leaves using stitch and wire. It represents new beginnings and an abundance, that time of year when everything is blossoming and scent fills the air “to the sultry-scented brim“. The month of June has significance for both the poet and the artist, as it is the birth month of people they love.

This piece has been sold and will make its way to its forever home when the exhibition ends in January.

Thank you to Marie for sharing the background to her work. Thanks to Jane Clarke for her collaboration and to her publisher, Bloodaxe Books, for permission to use her poems. Thanks also to the OPW for the opportunity to exhibit and Kildare County Council for funding through the Arts Act Grant.

To see these works up close and personal, visit the exhibition ROOTS, a dialogue in textile and poetry, in the Coach House Gallery, Dublin Castle. Open 7 days a week, 10 am – 5 pm, closed for lunch 1.15 – 1.45 pm. The Coach House will close from lunchtime Christmas Eve and reopen on 28th December.

Some of Jane’s books are now available in the gift shop in Chester Beatty Library next to the Coach House Gallery.