Brú Lasrach (Dwelling of Flame)

The inspiration behind Brú Lasrach (Dwelling of Flame) began with a lifelong fascination for vintage Irish industrial equipment. From a young age, I vividly remember an object of wonder located by my grandmother’s large open fire—when turned, it would cause the flames to rise and grow. It felt mystical, almost magical. I would later come to understand this as a fire blower, a once-essential tool to bring warmth, made from cast iron and forged by Wexford Engineering Ltd.

These ornate, mechanical tools—now obsolete—once played a central role in Irish domestic life. As I developed a deeper appreciation for craftsmanship and industrial history, I began collecting these objects. Their form, history, and symbolism inspired me to give them new life through sculpture.

The fire blower’s circular, ergonomic shape reminded me of a snail’s shell—organic and deliberate, a symbol of quiet resilience and home. The snail became the perfect form to embody the transformation of this once-functional object into an emblem of memory, identity, and endurance.

The process began when I drew the initial design in chalk on the workshop floor—a simple but grounding first step. From there, the central spine was cut using a CNC plasma cutter. I then constructed the body using 6mm mild steel, hand-shaped into a wire frame. As each rod was bent and welded into position, the layered curvature created a texture that—through its intricacy and repetition—resembles a human fingerprint. This style of craftsmanship is a technique I’ve developed and use uniquely in my work, adding a personal mark to the sculpture.