On Tuesday, 28 July artist Garrett Phelan discussed Energy Made Visible on Arena, on RTE Radio 1, sharing his response to the work of Dublin born artist, Michael Ashur and the ideas behind the exhibition at Ormston House.

Energy Made Visible is a group exhibition centred around the paintings of Michael Ashur (1950–2024). For this exhibition Garrett Phelan has ‘translated’ a painting by Ashur (entitled Fragment of Orion) into sound. Using photo-synthesiser and image sonification technology Phelan has mapped the geography of this painting. The resulting recordings have been mixed, then pressed into a vinyl record. The exhibition is open Wednesday to Saturday, 12-6pm, until 5 September, 2026.

Listen back to the broadcast via the link here.

Energy Made Visible is supported by the University of Limerick, Kildare County Council, and the Estate of Michael Ashur. Ormston House is supported by the Arts Council and Limerick Arts Office.

Image credit: Garrett Phelan, Custom Sonification of Fragments of Orion, sound work pressed onto a vinyl record, 2026. Drawings made by the artist aged 11, 1975. Image by Kate Bowe-O’Brien.