Shane arrived with us at Fort Dunree in the spring of 2022 and returned on and off throughout the year, exploring this place in all seasons, making discoveries about the culture and nature of the area, the evolving nature of Artlink and the fascinating world of lichen. He had been looking at how fungi and related species in woodland areas provide a complex network under the soil that directly affects the roots and trees above. Arriving at Fort Dunree he became fascinated by a lichen Fuscidea cyathoides which grows abundantly here, an example of a stable symbiotic coexistence between a fungus and algae. The research begun here is leading to new directions and has resulted in a series of drawings, a computer animated artwork, a sculptural installation and an AI system based on lichen intelligence.
Shane also gave a talk on the use of Free and Open Souse Software (FOSS) for artists as a low environmental impact and cheap alternative to commercial software like Adobe, Microsoft and Google products.
Shane Finan is an Irish artist, based in Leitrim. He assembles all manner of things into art. His media include electronics, painting, computer programs, film, web art, writing and interactive digital media. He collaborates with foresters, fungi, farmers, epidemiologists, ecologists, sheep, astrophysicists, and trees. He looks at complex networks and entanglements between human and nonhuman actors, and how these networks work together. His recent works have looked at how different organisms and objects influence one another, forming “assemblages” that change and affect places and environments. His work on networks includes natural networks such as the complex systems of trees, fungi and animals, and human/technological networks such as the internet or community centres.
Shane holds an MSc in Interactive Digital Media (Trinity College Dublin) and a BA in Fine Art (IT Sligo). He has received awards from The Arts Council of Ireland (2021, 2020, 2012), Wicklow Arts Office (2021), Creative Ireland Sligo (2020), Trinity College Dublin Visual and Performing Arts Fund (2019) and Culture Ireland (2018).
- December 21, 2022
