HARRY MOORE: From Canova to Yoga

Installation view of RECASTING CANOVA. Photo_Jed Niezgoda

1pm Wednesday 18 September
Sculpture Galleries

Join us for a special performance in the Sculpture Galleries as artist Harry Moore forges connections with our historic collection of Canova Casts.

Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures celebrate athletic activity and focus on the body’s health. The human forms they epitomize are idealised, or revered aspirations of the ‘perfect’ human form. Resonances in contemporary activity of this nature can be found in yoga practice.

From Canova to Yoga reflects the shift of practice from the ancient athletic pursuits of the plaster casts to a more contemporary range of yoga poses. The human forms represented in these statues are generally of spritely youthful adults, but the yoga exercise will be realised by a person of more years and sags and wrinkles!

The live artist is painted white to relate to the plaster works in the gallery with a blue yoga mat echoing the décor of the room. A series of yoga actions are undertaken with poses held to reflect the frozen stance of the surrounding plaster casts.

The performance also relates to a challenge by sculptor John Gibson, made 200 years ago, as to whether there could be any additions or innovations to the ancient sculptural poses, which resulted in John Hogan’s creation of The Drunken Faun (1826) displayed in the Sculpture Galleries.

This free event concludes the RECASTING CANOVA programme, 2019-2024.

Duration: 20 minutes approximately

No booking required but there is limited capacity

Please note: the artist will appear nude for the duration. Visitor discretion advised.

Harry Moore is an artist with an interest in theatre, woodwork, photography, music and sound performance, and composition. He is a former Artistic Director of Art Trail and has been commissioned by Cork City Council and IndieCork Film Festival. In his practice, he has a particular focus on pinhole photography and his work is represented in the collections of Crawford Art Gallery, University College Cork, and Dublin Docklands Development Authority.