A BOOK telling the story of the Titanic’s printers using an ink made out of coal from the ship is among some 300 exhibits on display at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) this week.
The story of printers Abraham Mishellany and Ernest Corbin uses some 40 illustrations and similar fonts and printing methods as used on board the ship.
“I bought some coal which came from the wreck site, ground it up and mixed it into ink and that appears on the title page. So there’s a little piece of the Titanic in every book,” said visual communications graduate Jamie Murphy.
There is a vast array of work on display at the NCAD graduate show from ceramic, glass and metal to industrial, fashion and textile design, and visual communications in fine print and media.
Among the industrial design items is an update of the traditional dining chair.
The “repose” chair has pivot points allowing people to move forwards and backwards. Modern users multi-task on chairs, from typing on their laptop to reclining with their iPads, explained designer Kevin Doherty.
Very traditional furniture is used in an installation called Nest by artist Bevan O’Daly. It is inside a chicken coop containing three real egg-laying hens. The project examines Irish country life and the relationship between a woman and her brood.
Another home theme is contained in a sculpture by Claire Chaney, which is in the shape of a house but is made of soft latex. Her work aims to challenge the relationship between home and the architectural shell.
An alternative view of shopping centres is in Lisa Murphy’s display, with 240 spheres hung from fishing line. Each represents a brand from three Dublin shopping centres, with size depending on whether it is local or global.
The show represents the culmination of work for students, Siún Hanrahan, head of academic affairs and research at NCAD, said yesterday.
Students were “entrepreneurial and innovative” in making opportunities and were “very realistic” about what it took to work in a “very shifting landscape”.
The NCAD graduate show is open until Sunday at three venues off the Thomas Street campus in Dublin. Admission is free.
