Dúlra Photography
Dúlra - Irish for the Elements of Nature
This is a complete new collection of abstract works that Daragh has put together in 2007 using his classic 35mm Canon AE-1 camera. It has been in planning for some time ever since he found a true peace in the deserts of Australia.
‘I was longing to go back to a sandy desert and take my time to connect with my surroundings and photograph the wonder of light and sand. I also love the intense and infinite beauty of ice and I began to explore the possibility of putting together two trips back to back, one to the desert and one to ice. On my return, if I was successful, I would host an exhibition of all my work from the two trips.
My two destinations were the Western part of the Sahara in Morocco and the Vatnajokull ice cap in Iceland. Each trip was just over 3 weeks, 23 days in fact.
I flew to Marrakech and took a bus to Merzouga which is nestled at the edge of the most magnificent sand dunes. From here I walked with Amar, my Berber guide, and a camel throughout the sand dunes finding my space to connect with nature and the rhythm of the desert. It is in this, almost dreamlike space, that I feel I capture my best images.
I particularly loved the beautiful tracks that the numerous insects left behind as they went through their daily commute. And then the rains came and changed the sand completely creating a whole new world of patterns and textures.
The easterly wind or Chergui created its fair share of problems. As you can imagine sand blowing everywhere is not a cameras best friend. Cleaning my entire kit twice a day was commonplace and yet, even still, one of my cameras jammed on reaching Iceland.
On my return to Ireland, I had 6 days to get Wanda, my 1986 Volkswagon campervan, ready for the trip to Iceland. To get there I took a ferry to Holyhead and drove to Scrabster in the North of Scotland. From here I took a ferry to the Orkney Islands and then one to the Shetland Islands. In Lerwick I was able to pick up the Smyril Line from Norway on route to Iceland stopping for a day in the Faroe Islands.
Once in Iceland, I made my way immediately to Jokulsarlon, a tidal lagoon at the foot of one of Vatnajokulls glacier tongues filled with icebergs of varying sizes. I spent many days here, walking the shores of this lagoon, marvelling at the ever changing array of stunning ice sculptures.
Next, I wanted to get onto the glacier and look into a few crevasses. I had brought all the kit with me (crampons, ice axes and ice boots), so I was all set to get onto the glacier. In the desert my pack was relatively light. Here my pack was double the weight due to extra clothes, climbing gear and food, which made jumping over crevases more difficult. It was a deeply humbling experience for me, to be alone on a glacier, listening to icefalls and staring deep into crevasses. I spent many days here photographing glacial formations and returning to my fridge freezer of a van every evening. Despite the beautiful 24 hours of light it still got down to –10C some nights.’
The images are a collection of contrasts from opposing climates, but despite being opposites there are a number of comparisons to be made. Sublime sand formations to exquisite ice sculptures, rolling dunes gently lit by the Saharan sun to cold glacier lines. Brown and beige to blue and white.
Nature, our finest artist, shows us once again, how stunning our planet is.
All images for the collection are editions of 23, as each trip was 23 days, although there are some extra images that are unlimited which can be found in the unlimited section of the gallery.
They are all finished on Diabond, Blockmount and in neutral grey Frames which were created exclusively for this exhibition.
