Holger Christian Lönze,
Born 1968 Schmallenberg, Germany

holger.lonze@hotmail.com

I started off with an apprenticeship as a furniture maker and then turned to studying architecture for five years. While being assistant to the sculptor Axel Seyler, I realised that my real heart was in sculpture. Since my studies at the art college in Belfast, I have been working as a figurative sculptor for eight years, mainly in the medium of bronze. This passion for sculpture became the basis for my PHD thesis on perception of time and temporality and its expression in sculpture. In 2002 I took up a research assistant post on the collaborative research project of the Eden Project and Falmouth College of Art. In the process of the project I looked at straw, willow and paper as traditional craft materials that can offer opportunities for design for sustainability. During my seven years in Ireland I was attracted by the native fishing boats of the west coast, the currachs. Their lines, form and culture related to them fascinated me. I eagerly studied this maritime tradition, built a Dunfanaghy currach in 2001 and then ran workshops in building the boats. A 25ft Kerry namhóg is in the planning and I am involved in organising a currach festival in Connemara for 2005.