Simon Kidd Sculpture 3 Glacial Erratics

Simon Kidd

The namesake of these works are glacial erratics, which are rocks that have been carried across the landscape by
glaciers and then deposited someplace after the glacier has melted. Glacial erratics are found in various places across
the world, Ireland being just one of them. They are scattered across our island, and often have a connection to Irish
mythology and folklore – from being stones that were thrown by giants of the past, to Ail na Míreann in County

Westmeath, where the veil is said to be thin – a meeting place with the other world.

These rocks are special – from the journeys they’ve been taken on by glaciers to the stories they’ve become part of
over thousands of years. I wanted to instill some of these qualities into these pieces. They have subtle nods to
geological characteristics – stratification, erosion, orogeny. They are made of the land: undulating surfaces
embedded and coated with rocks from across our island – granites, limestones, basalts – brought together and melted

to create something new, objects that are not quite from our world.