• the arts column: January 22nd

    This week’s edition of the arts column looks at events in both capitals as we see a series of exhibitions, annual traditions, emerging artists, collections and opportunities. As always, if you have an event, talk, exhibition, or would like to recommend one please get in touch via aidan[at]thethinair.net Exhibition | Turner Month @ National Gallery, Dublin While this time of year is normally synonymous with broken resolutions, one century old tradition remains: Turner Month at the National Gallery of Ireland. In 1899 Henry Vaughan donated 31 watercolours to the gallery, with a stipulation that they always be free and only shown in January, so…

  • The Weeknd – Kiss Land

    When Abel Tesfaye mysteriously emerged two years ago with a dazzling set of ice cold mixtapes that vividly depicted post-breakup anxiety, lurid sexual encounters and drug-enhanced paranoia, the impact of his music was only heightened by the ambiguity surrounding the artist. Preferring to lurk in the shadows of promotional imagery (or not appear at all) and presenting himself under the peculiar misspelled guise of The Weeknd, the faceless Ontario native leaned on his piercing falsetto to lure listeners into his desperate and debauched world. While Tesfaye may have crept to the spotlight over time by breaking his anonymity, performing live,…