Bead Game explored the shared space between art and philosophy through material-discursive methods of thinking.
During the Spring-Summer term of 2016, Art School invited artist Fiona Hallinan, curator Katy Fitzpatrick and philosopher Aislinn O’Donnell to work in partnership with fifth class students and teachers from Bray School Project, and fourth class students and teachers from St Mary’s and St Gerard’s National School, Enniskerry.
Working with curator Jennie Guy, Fiona Hallinan devised a workshop series in which students were introduced to artistic practices of listening, collecting and discussing. This led to a material exploration of ‘scoring’, casting found materials in spherical beads of resin and, through their arrangement, forming a collective score. Responding to some of the ideas being presented in these workshops, Katy and Aislinn delivered three Art and Philosophy workshops. Through experiential exercises and by using drawing, sculpting, and writing as material practices of thinking, they explored sensations and questioned what we understand by memory.