New on-site installation unveiled at AstraZeneca's Alexion College Park

AstraZeneca have unveiled a new art installation at the Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease College Park campus today. Created by multidisciplinary artist Liing Heaney and developed in collaboration with Fingal County Council’s Arts Office, the installation reflects AstraZeneca’s commitment to fostering a vibrant, engaging environment for employees and visitors.

The installation was commissioned by AstraZeneca in accordance with Fingal County Council’s Development Plan and the commissioning framework outlined in its planning permission application for APICOM, the company’s next‑generation active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility at the Blanchardstown campus.

A cross‑functional site panel reviewed seven artist submissions curated by independent art consultant Aisling Prior. The selected proposal was chosen for its strong alignment with AstraZeneca’s core values, particularly innovation and sustainability.

Fingal County Council’s commissioning framework programme, which is managed through the Arts Office and a dedicated curator to foster partnerships and ensure contemporary quality, has enabled private developers to invest over €3 million in art and artists across the county since inception.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “Works like this show how meaningful collaboration can enhance the character of our shared spaces and offer people something distinctive to engage with. By integrating creativity into everyday environments, projects like this foster pride and demonstrate how craftsmanship and imagination help shape a strong, confident cultural identity for Fingal.”

Heaney’s work, trace element, inspired by megaliths that inhabit the Irish landscape, explores the raw and ancient materiality of stone within a contemporary and future-facing setting. Beginning as a digital sculptural sketch and translated into physical form using blue granite quarried from Ballyknocken, Co. Wicklow, steel, vinyl images, Perspex, and vibrant colours, the piece is a meeting point between ancient and contemporary technologies. With the rocks almost levitating, this piece stands as a celebration of the material of stone for its endurances as a medium for memory, and a catalyst for human vitality. The installation was completed in August 2025. 

API Commercialisation (APICOM) Site Lead and Executive Director Jon-Paul Sherlock, AstraZeneca Ireland, commented: “Partnering with Fingal County Council and Liing Heaney to bring this fantastic installation onto our College Park, Dublin site reflects our belief that innovation and sustainability must be lived as well as engineered. Trace element connects advanced fabrication with local materials and a deep sense of place, an enduring symbol of AstraZeneca's values and of our commitment to Ireland.”

Liing Heaney, Artist added: “Trace element began with an impulse to work with the materiality of stone. I wanted to challenge myself, as primarily a digital artist, to move beyond a CGI composition and work with others to manifest this idea in physical space. For me, the levitating rocks and vibrant colours are a celebration of ancient and contemporary technologies meeting, where future visions and ancient raw materials circulate and enhance each other.” 

Caroline Cowley, Deputy Arts Officer Public Art, Arts Office, Economic, Enterprise, Tourism & Cultural Development, Fingal County Council said: “This commission demonstrates how planning conditions can deliver high-quality, site-integrated artworks that reflect local context and invite engagement. Through a competitive process and a collaborative approach, AstraZeneca has embraced the standards of Fingal’s programme, enabling contemporary art to thrive across the county.”