The Lady of the Rock gets a makeover

She reclines suggestively on the window sill, her white skin barely covered by a tiny sheet. She is the Lady of the Rock, and she’s become a familiar sight in homes all around Dublin. Now, this iconic statuette is getting a makeover – and the results are on display in a new exhibition at Axis: Ballymun.

The Lady on the Rock has been the subject of a short documentary by Californian filmmaker Jessie Ward O'Sullivan, exploring this cultural phenomenon, which originated as a clay model made by Harold Gardiner, and is now mass-produced by Dublin Mouldings.

The students of St Michael's Holy Faith school in Finglas have given the lady some new looks for Spring 2015, reimagining her as a mermaid, a frog princess and a Miss Piggy figure among others. The Ladies on the Rock is at the Axis gallery until April 15th. Axisballymun.ie

Kevin Courtney

Kevin Courtney

Kevin Courtney is an Irish Times journalist