CAG.2040 David Lilburn, Kinsale Revisited, 2000, drypoint print, 49 x 60 cm. Purchased, 2000. © the artist.

Kinsale Revisited (2000) is a drypoint print by David Lilburn in which features of the County Cork town, including The Spaniard and Charles Fort’s star-shaped form, may be picked out.

In this aerial map-like view, much of Kinsale addresses the coastal inlet that has long defined it as a strategic harbour. Reflecting on his work, Lilburn considers that “the porous membrane of the southern edge of the island of Ireland is continually traversed with arrivals and departures – military, commercial, criminal, or cultural.”

Having studied history at Trinity College Dublin, the artist describes our coastline as “a vital threshold of contact with continental Europe and beyond.” This rich association may be read in Kinsale Revisited, with its layers of built heritage, active waterfront, and text annotations suggesting not just topography but a complex history. It is one of several works on the theme of the Irish coast the artist made arising from his largescale commission, Coastline, for the Irish Pavilion at EXPO 2000 in Hanover

David Lilburn (b.1950) is an artist and printmaker who often explores concepts of memory and identity in his work through a form of mapping and the rich narrative detail that maps may embody. He trained at both the Scuole Istituto Statale d’Arte, Urbino and Limerick School of Art & Design. A member of Limerick Printmakers, he co-runs Occasional Press and is a Trustee of the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland.

Kinsale Revisited (2000) by David Lilburn is featured in Statio Bene: Art and Ireland’s Maritime Haven (Floor 1) until April 2021.

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