Tempus Fugit
Liam Lavery and Eithne Ring
Greyfriars St, Waterford City, Ireland
“Tempus Fugit” is a public art installation created by Liam Lavery and Eithne Ring in collaboration with Keating Fabrication Ltd in 2022, located in the Viking Triangle, Waterford City, Ireland; based on a concept by historian and museum director Eamonn McEneaney.
The installation, supported on a galvanised steel arch, features a series of cut-out stainless steel clock faces forming a pair of wings signifying “time flies” and is illuminated with coloured lights at night; it acts as both an entrance to a courtyard and a focal feature for the adjacent award winning “Irish Museum of Time” housed in a former church.
Measuring 5m high x 4m wide x 3m deep, with its main elements cantilevered high out over the pavement, the use of galvanized steel for the support arch provides structural strength, durability, resilience, and the ability to integrate contemporary art into a historic heritage setting, making the sculpture a point of community engagement and cultural exploration. The use of galvanised steel combined with the stainless was a key factor in bringing this project to completion within budget.
The grey/green epoxy coating used for the support arch was selected to match colours in the stone of the building, blending the sculpture into its sensitive historic heritage setting. The galvanized steel arch reflects the gothic architecture of the museum's doorway.
"Tempus Fugit" is part of the Urban Animation project “City of Lights” by the Irish tourist board, Fáilte Ireland and Waterford City Council aiming to enhance public spaces in Waterford’s old Viking Triangle quarter.
Photographs © Liam Lavery and Eithne Ring