Bó Abhainn | River Cow

"Visual artist Jane Groves creates immersive installations and spaces which connect people, place and landscape. Her work is embedded in meaningful engagement and site specific installations, working with children and communities to deepen their visual vocabulary and interaction with the natural world.

Bó Abhainn or River cow is an interactive sculpture which makes the connection between the natural world and the urban environment as well as our ancestral connection with the cattle who changed the Irish landscape. From ‘buachaill’ (cow herd) to ‘bothar’ (cow path) bovine words pepper the Irish language. The earth Goddess Boinn is from bó Fhionn or the white cow.

Historically, the Docklands area housed a livestock market which saw cows milked before being sold and sent to other parts of the county. The waterways of Ireland, which once served as arteries of commerce, are now spectacular ribbons of biodiversity and havens for wildlife. Children and their families are invited to add foraged flowers and grasses to Bó Abhainn as she prepares to take her journey down the river to be illuminated under the Milky Way - or the way of the white cow."