KEVIN HERLIHY | studio 212
BA fine Art, Goldsmith’s College, 1984
Art Teacher’s Certificate, Goldsmith’s College, 1989
"For me, making art is a powerful way to express values and issues I care strongly about, in particular respect for the natural world. I’ve aimed to promote a positive affect on our environment through art by involving a diverse range of people in numerous community art projects across London, reusing thrown-away objects in imaginative and sustainable ways.
I’m acquainted with a variety of traditional crafts using wood, metal and textiles, and have fused what I’ve learnt with fine art practices, adapting and evolving methods for reusing waste products. I retrieve and transform a plentiful supply of discarded material left as litter, bound for landfill, or an endlessly drifting hazard from river to ocean.
Encouraged from an early age to reuse and recycle by a generation which lived through two world wars, I continue to be guided by this wisdom in my approach to art and life generally. I am always aware of the vast amount of energy used to manufacture disposable products; the raw materials extracted from deep within the Earth, forged there over many millions of years. I like to think that some of this energy is injected into my work, making a symbolic return to nature, coming full circle; life clawing its way back from the rubble of dereliction."
