“Drawing is as important as breathing to me.”
Joe Caslin’s work is some of the most important in Ireland when it comes to our emotional well-being as a nation.
A secondary school teacher working in Tullamore, Joe’s installations on some of the country’s most famous landmarks mark him out as a visual poet, firmly placing the spotlight on the mental health of our young people and challenging our perception of what Irish society should look like in 2016 and beyond.
Joe has worked closely with Pieta House, his most recent artwork looking out over the city of Waterford to coincide with the opening of the suicide and self-harm crisis centre’s new service in the south-east.
It’s quite something.
Joe Caslin recently spoke to JOE.ie about his work, insisting, “we as individuals can make a significant impact.”
JOE.ie: When did you first come up with the idea of creating these pieces?
Joe Caslin: The work began back in 2011/2012. I had recently moved to Edinburgh to study an MFA in Illustration and I had wanted to create work reactive to social issues.
The London riots had just taken place, Trayvon Martin had been brutally killed and we ourselves were in the midst of a deep recession.
Personally, I had lost too many of my students to suicide and our collective mental and emotional wellbeing as a nation was on the floor. I had run away to sort my head out. Drawing is as important as breathing to me.
JOE.ie: You’re famous for never putting words on your images – can you explain why that is?
Joe Caslin: We are on an hourly basis bombarded with advertising laden with text telling us how to think.
However, we are a culturally rich and have a remarkable visual intelligence. Irish people in some way resent being told how to think or act. There is a power in letting the artwork speak for itself.
Many incredible stories have been told over the centuries using just a visual language and I wish to continue that tradition.
JOE.ie: How much does your work as a teacher inform pieces like your recent work in Waterford, your piece for the marriage referendum and your work on Achill Henge?
Joe Caslin: It is the most important influence on my work. My classroom is a microcosm of a wider Irish society. It is a test ground and a catalyst for my ideas.
The marriage referendum was passed in my classroom and on the corridors of my school years before that vote was put to the general public on 22nd May 2015.
I often recruit past and present students to install or be the face behind the drawings. Through this work we as a team forge an incredible bond. I have travelled the length and breadth of this island and have worked with some incredible young men and women.
These young people want to destroy the widely held stereotype of unwillingness to engage and community apathy that is ascribed to them.
JOE.ie: Do you get the sense that Ireland, and in particular the Irish government, is getting better at tackling mental health issues?
Joe Caslin: I believe we are slowly allowing ourselves to have open conversations about our emotional and mental well-being. We must take responsibility as individuals, families, communities, villages, towns and cities. Government will follow our lead. As individuals we can make a significant impact.
JOE.ie: What does the work that Pieta House does mean to you?
Joe Caslin: The connection I have with Pieta House is deep. We have had a great working relationship over the past three years. I believe in the good work that they do.
Pieta House has saved the lives of a number of my friends, colleagues and students over the years. I am indebted to their professionalism and kindness.
JOE.ie: What’s your next project?
Joe Caslin: I am working on a project called ‘The Volunteers’ at the moment.
The project aims to highlight endemic issues that impact Irish society and her people through the portrayal of emblematic volunteers; specific to drug addiction, mental health and direct provision.
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