Two mixed-media meander books, with gelatin silver prints and Canson paper. Books are 4.25" and 4.75" tall, and open to 40" and 16" respectively. Whole piece with stand (not shown), is 5.25" x 8" x 2".
Peter Mullin lived on the island of Inishmore, the largest of the three Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. Largest being a relative term, because this island is only nine miles long, and two miles at its widest point. And something like100 miles of drystone walls crisscross its rocky surface. These walls delineate fields, and serve as a repository for stones that would otherwise interfere with agriculture and other activities. Oftentimes the locals can identify a wall’s builder by its individual style, or by the size and type of its stones. So when I wanted to honor the maker of this fine wall, I sent photos to the owner of the B&B where I had stayed on my last visit, and asked if by chance she knew the name of the person I was looking for. She wrote back almost immediately. “Oh yes,” she said, “His name was Peter Mullin, and he really knew how to build a wall.”
My tribute includes a quote from The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields: “He chooses the stones carefully, for . . . gravity alone must hold them in place, gravity and balance, each stone receptive to the shape of those it rests against . . .”