Designer/Metalsmith/Sculptor
Kevin J. O'Dwyer
O’Dwyer has recycled one of the tipplers used to unload peat. Tippler Bridge has a cylindrical form. O’Dwyer’s walking bridge uses a hybrid assortment of materials that included corrugated steel that references the Nissan huts that housed over 400 men who worked the bogs in the 1950s. Both shelter and bridge, the Tippler Bridge’s view areas inside offer a cropped view of the surrounding lands, that contrasts the pervasive sky and arc of the horizon that predominates over this landscape. A cachet of local history, an industrial aesthetic, and a collaging of these elements with the landscape panorama all come together in O’Dwyer’s Tippler Bridge for passers by and visitors alike to experience.
John Grande Art Nature Dialogues
The sculpture was inspired by the Nissen huts used in the 1940's and 50's to house Bord na Mona workers during the peat harvest at Boora Bog.
The sculpture incorporates a recycled Tippler that was used at the Ferbane power plant to unload peat from the incoming rail carriages. The Tippler armature was wrapped in galvanised steel and incorporates stainless steel viewing slots. The big sky in Boora can be overpowering and the stainless steel slots create a visual cut to help the viewer focus on the landscape along the canal.
This piece combines the functional - bridge/shelter/bird hide with a sculptural industrial aesthetic.
Tippler Bridge (2009)
Material: Recycled steel Tippler from Ferbane Power Plant,
Galvanised steel, stainless steel
Dimensions: 15 m x 4m x 4m
Location: Sculpture in the Parklands
Co. Offaly, Ireland