Riverrun 3, Denis Brown, 2011. Calligraphy engraved in layered glass, 21" x 30" x 2" deep
Text from James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake'

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6 sheets of 2mm glass, each spaced a little apart in a box-frame. Each sheet is hand engraved with writing on both sides, as well as etched with an acidic paste. Mounted over a background with a unique print on hand painted and gilt paper featuring an image composed digitally from blurred scans of the sheets of engraved glass. The gilt copper frame features an engraved clear acrylic surround that casts shadows on the supporting wall.

Text: 'riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.' These are the opening words from Finnegans Wake. The mass of engraved writing additionally contains text from the final pages of the 'Wake' which read cyclically back into the beginning.