Art Exhibition by Nickie Hayden
19 September 2025 — Present
Leopold Bloom, in Ulysses, embodies a quiet form of humanity: gentle, receptive, and willing to hold space for others even when the world around him grows loud and divisive. Unlike the brash voices that seek to dominate, Bloom’s way is modest—he listens, he observes, and offers small gestures of kindness. It is precisely this quietness that makes him an emblem of peace: he shows us that understanding need not shout, but may instead arrive as a subtle recognition of another’s humanity.
In this sense, haiku becomes a fitting vessel for Bloom’s spirit. With its brevity and focus on the present moment, haiku does not declare peace as an abstract ideal, but reveals it in small details of nature and daily life: the hush after rain, the turning leaf, the gentle unfolding of a blossom. Haiku teaches us, as Bloom does, that peace begins in the ordinary—through patience, acceptance, and attentiveness to what surrounds us.
What is a Haiku?
A haiku is a short, three-line poem that originated in Japan. In its traditional form it follows a 5-7-5 syllable structure (five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the third), for a total of 17 syllables. Haiku rarely rhyme. Instead, they capture a fleeting moment, usually connected to nature or the seasons, and evoke feeling through showing rather than telling.
Western haiku often keep the 5-7-5 pattern but also adapt the form, sometimes focusing more on the spirit of brevity and vividness than on strict syllable counts. What remains central is the ability to pause, to notice, and to honour the quiet beauty of the present moment.
The Haiku Wheels
The vision of peace takes form not only in words but in motion. Two turning cylinders become vessels for haiku.
The first lies horizontally, already holding haiku from a previous exhibition inspired by Ulysses. Fixed to its surface, these poems turn like a rolling scroll, offering fragments of Bloom’s spirit—kindness, patience, quiet humanity—to whoever looks. In this way, the wheel preserves what has already been written, keeping those earlier voices in motion.
The second stands vertically, also turning, and has a letterbox in its side. On Culture Night, new haiku are written and then posted into this letterbox. Each poem enters the wheel like a wish, carried within as the cylinder turns, circling through time and silence.
These “turning haiku” remain in motion until the next Culture Night, when they are gathered from the vertical wheel and fixed to the horizontal one. Thus, each poem journeys from wish to word to permanence.
Together, the two wheels embody the lesson of haiku and of Bloom: peace is not a sudden declaration, but a process of offering, turning, waiting, and transformation. One wheel holds the past; the other gathers the present; between them, a cycle of words continues, weaving peace across time.
Haiku Inspired by Bloom and Peace
1
Quiet street at dawn—
a stranger lifts another,
peace walks silently.
2
River bends and flows,
different waters joining,
gentle currents hold.
3
Amid loud voices,
a pause like Bloom’s listening—
stillness blooms within.
4
Winter branch in frost,
beneath the bark, sap rising—
patience turns to spring.
5
One hand passing bread,
the other pouring kindness—
a table made whole.
In the turning of the haiku wheels, in the quiet gestures of Bloom, in the brevity of haiku, we glimpse the same truth: peace is never a proclamation, but a presence. It comes slowly, humbly, yet with a strength that endures. Words, like petals, turn, waiting to take root; gestures, like Bloom’s kindness, move silently through the world; haiku, like wishes, carry both past and present toward a future of possibility.
Artist Nickie Hayden has been a practicing artist for over 30 years. She was a director in the Black Church Print Studio and Graphic Print Studio Dublin. She was also on the steering committee of two major exhibitions, ‘Revelations’ in the National Gallery, and ‘Artist Proof’ in the Chester Beatty Library. Her work is in many collections such as, OPW, National Gallery of Ireland, and many more. Hayden’s materials are intrinsic to her practice. She works in oil and acrylic painting, sculpture, mixed media and installation. Some of her work has been highly interactive. For example, in the past she has involved the general public and various international and Irish poets with her work.
The James Joyce Centre is supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.