Ciaran Begley
Contradictory Demands

…we shall be ‘static with movement’ We must be the creative masters of changing reality – which we are, by the definition of Man.
Jean Tinguely

Ciaran Begley’s work explores balance, latent and potential energies, and transformation. His installations of sculptural and functional forms invite playful public participation, casting side-long visions of the forces at play in our world.

Contradictory Demands is a site-specific work for the Ideas Platform made from plywood and piano-hinged origami-like constructions. Drawing on the architecture and character of its host site, the piece utilises complex counterbalancing mechanisms to create malleable, interactive forms that are there to be manipulated by the audience.

Begley’s practice poses questions about creative will and individual expression. By actively investigating and rearranging the plywood, each successive viewer becomes a protagonist in the installation, tracing previous movements and informing future ones, transforming the work with their own process of play and discovery.

Begley has recently completed his Masters at Sydney College of the Arts and has exhibited in Australia, the UK and New Zealand over the last 18 years.