Sculpture in the Parklands
2002-2010
ALFIO BONANNO By Amy Dempsey (2020)
Press
Sculpture in the Parklands has been featured in a number of publications and documentaries including:
Art Destinations by Amy Dempsey (Thames and Hudson)
Sculpture Trails, Parks and Gardens of Britain and Ireland. Alison Stace.
Public Art and Ecology (China)
Irish Contemporary Landscapes in Literature and the Arts
Ireland of the Welcomes
Irish Arts Review
RTE Radio
Sceal na Mona
Tullamore Tribune
Contemporary Irish Writing and Environmentalism
Sculpture in the Parklands interview
Art World Innovators - NPR podcast - University of Manitoba
Destination Art (2021 edition) by Amy Dempsey features Sculpture in the Parklands and Blackfoot Pathways:Sculpture in the Wild
‘From Earth to Sky’ at Lough Boora is one of the featured works in the first major book published about Alfio Bonanno.
Nestled within the expansive peatlands of County Offaly, Sculpture in the Parklands emerges not merely as a collection of artworks but as a profound dialogue between nature, history, and human intervention. The park transcends the traditional boundaries of sculpture parks by embedding site-specific works deeply within a landscape shaped by centuries of industrial peat harvesting and ecological transformation. Each piece resonates with the physical and cultural memory of the boglands, inviting visitors to engage not only with the art but with the layered narratives of place—its geology, folklore, and the lives of those who labored upon it.
Under the visionary curation of Kevin O'Dwyer, the park has become a dynamic canvas where artists navigate the tensions between permanence and ephemerality, industry and nature, darkness and light. The works—ranging from robust, monolithic stone pyramids to delicate, ephemeral constructions of bogwood—are suffused with symbolism and material histories. This interplay evokes a contemplative experience, encouraging a sensorial journey through shadow and sun, solid and void, silence and sound. Sculpture in the Parklands does not simply display art; it orchestrates an immersive encounter with the ever-changing Irish landscape, where creativity and environment coalesce in an ongoing symphony of form and meaning.
Learning Experiences Ireland © 2013