LET THERE BE
Preview Friday May 24 | The Shed | 8pm
Runs until Tuesday May 28th
1 - 6pm Daily
"Only fullness leads to clarity
And truth lies in the abyss"
Friedrich Schiller
"Roadrunner, roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop
With the radio on"
Roadrunner, The Modern Lovers
Artist collective Angry Hammers present 'Let There Be' a new multi media installation in The Shed exhibition space in the Galway Docks. The exhibition opens to the public on Friday the 24th of May at 8pm and runs daily, 1 - 6pm through to Tuesday May 28th.
'Let There Be' stems from a common bond shared by every member of Angry Hammers, the fact that each member’s parents owned a Fiat 127. Reacting to this they have created an immersive multi-media installation that explores physics and science fiction within the context of 20th century pop culture references to cars and the freedom they represent. 'Let There Be' responds to The Shed’s look and location, a large corrugated steel warehouse flanked by a working docks and a scrapheap, transforming the venue into a sinister place that falls somewhere between a laboratory and a film set. Angry Hammers will create a new vehicle; the Fiat 137, a car of potential, the car of the past, present and future in an effort to explore the ideas of escape and freedom that cars represent.
The installation is particularly inspired by ‘Cargo Cults’. These religions popped up in the Pacific Islands after World War II when natives built bamboo radio towers and landing strips hoping to lure back the American planes that overflowed with cargo while the islands were occupied during the conflict. The handmade sets were created in an effort to re-enact or revise the past in order to assert control over the present and future. Taking this source, Angry Hammers have added more contemporary references to physics, science fiction and psychology, particularly the concept of the multiverse and the mysteries surrounding the number 137. The prime number 137 directly references the Golden Circle, a symbol of perfection and balance that holds importance in science, religion and mysticism. Much like the Cargo Cults attempted to recreate a nostalgic time through reenactment, Angry Hammers have remade the Fiat 127 into the Fiat 137 in an attempt to revisit the seemingly simpler and more perfect past. The above quotes reflect these themes found in the show, the first being a favourite quote of pioneering physicist Niels Bohr and the second, lyrics from one of the best songs about driving and listening to rock and roll.
Angry Hammers is the moniker for a number of contemporary artists who collaborate together on unique exhibition opportunities. We use improvisational techniques to create ambitious, challenging, experimental and playful work that embraces the unforeseen. Angry Hammers take their inspiration from the Bertolt Brecht quote "Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it”.
Kindly supported by Galway City Council, Adapt Galway and The Galway Harbour Company.
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