Tír Na nÓg, 2014

Eva Rothschild RA (b. 1971)

RA Collection: Art

The sculpture Tír Na nÓg comprises an open rectangular structure over two and a half metres tall with a shelf-like platform at the mid-point. An assemblage of apparently abstract three-dimensional forms is arranged on top of this platform, with a similar group of three-dimensional forms arranged below, apparently defying gravity. At first glance, these could be mistaken for a mirror image of each other, but on closer inspection there are discrepancies that mark the two sets of forms as distinct: slight variations in colour, shape, orientation. With these subtle differences, the artist Eva Rothschild makes the viewer rethink their initial perceptions and observe more closely.

The title Tír Na nÓg is the name of the Celtic Otherworld, or a part of it. It translates as ‘Land of Youth’ and is described as an island paradise of everlasting beauty, youth and joy. Its inhabitants are said to be the ancient Gaelic gods of Irish mythology but the island itself is hostile to human visitors. In the same way that not everything might be as it first appears on the island of Tír na nÓg, the sculpture surprises the viewer through its gravity-defying objects and asymmetry. The forms around the platform also echo the beautiful landscape of the mythical paradise: the green shapes allude to the dense forest, while the stacks of grey blocks evoke the cities and fortresses made of precious metals.

Rothschild has made two comparable works, Prismatics (2014) and Complication (2014), both sharing the open rectangle form with the platform, but with alternative objects placed around the centre. Alongside abstract forms, the cluster of objects in these sculptures includes casts of everyday items such as a water bottle and a ball of string.

Tir Na nÓg demonstrates several elements that recur in Rothschild’s practice, including delicate processes of balancing, stacking and wrapping materials around rigid geometric structures, as well as implied organic structures such as trees or branches. Like many of Rothschild’s works, this sculpture is visually reminiscent of minimalist sculpture but with added disruptions of colour and specific materials. It expresses the artist’s interest in the transformative power of looking.