Benjamin C Dearnley Fragments of our time
FEILE NA BEALTAINE
2023
The concept
Saturday 10.30 - 5pm Sunday: 10.30 - 3pm 29th/30th April 2023
A community based project to bring people together from all ages to join in with the creation of the Mother of all recycling, Máthair. Folk were invited to join Ben and his team of helpers (Trish, Norine, Anne, Vee, Vince, Gearoid, Margaret, Marie, and many others) over the weekend of the festival to help build a 3 meter tall figure out of recycled plastic. The public were invited to bring along some cleaned plastic bottles from their own households weekly use and were guided to add those to the main sculpted figure by Ben.
Sunday afternoon 3pm.
Meeting up for procession were the fesitval band an along with the children from the Boys school who carried their classroom sea monster, along with many of the public who had come along to help with the build. We processed down Main street, Goat street, past St Mary’s and on to the harbor front where the final cleansing of all the pollutants took place. Within the structure we had placed a few 3lt and 5lt bottles filled with a dilueted water/compost mixture which represented all the pollutants of the world. These were empited out along the way to demonstarte the need for us to clense the world of its pollutants.
Schools:
With 2 of the local schools getting involved, Ben was able to to discuss the project and demonstrate the potential usage for the plastic bottles. Give creative ideas and inspirations for the children to begin looking at the recycled world and how important it is that we take positive action to help our future environment. And to help the children create their own classroom recycled sea monster.
The ‘Junk Kouture’ open invitation: This was an extra aspect for the parade and for the children to make items of clothing for the Sunday 3pm procession. It was a great success with winning designs given book tokens with the Dingle Book shop. The seniors were on their way to the finals of the Junk Kouture in Dublin so it was a great treat to have them with us for this festival.
Many thanks to all who took part in this years festival and came to help build the Mother of Recycling.
2023
FEILE NA BEALTINE
Dingle
Mathair na hAthcursala The Mother of Recycling
“This amazing project aims to bring the art of recycling to one and all and show how we can all help to do a little to protect our fragile world. The 3 meter tall figure will be made up from all your old plastic bottles, which we need YOU to bring with you. So when you pop in, we will be able to guide you and your family to help us create the largest sculpted figure made from plastic bottles Dingle has ever seen! This will then become the head of the procession on Sunday afternoon at 3pm. We look forward to seeing you there.”
Ben Dearnley
Dingle Men's Shed get welding
With help from the Dingle Men's shed we got to work welding the frame from which all the recycled plastic bottles would be attached. The trolley was made up from a recycled pallet attached to a set of old wheels on a rusty axle! We had faith that it would hold out for the duration of the festival and would then make it all the way back to the West Kerry Recycling Center.
Images from the weekend.
The original sketch for the idea, the Men's Shed, the opening ceremony with two of Ben's stained glass and local Dingle stone sculptures on display. The schools works and the build in progress.
