• Picture This: The Honeymoon Suite @ Golden Thread

    July 15, 2017 - By 

    There comes a point in self-portraiture when you lose focus of the fact the imagery in front depicts the artist themselves. While you don’t truly ‘forget’ this knowledge, it doesn’t become the overriding concern. The work transcends itself from self-portraiture to portraiture, and with this emerges the possibility of the work to speak of societal observations rather than personal musings. The more successful the work is the quicker this process happens, which allows for greater insight. The most obvious case of this, in the history of photography, is the canon of Cindy Sherman. It’s hard not to think of Sherman…

  • Exhibition: Eamon O’Kane @ Butler Gallery

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    The work of Danish fairytale behemoth Hans Christian Anderson, and specifically his 1858 short story The Last Dream of an Old Oak Tree, provides the title for the latest exhibition by Irish artist Eamon O’Kane in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery. The show, titled Does all the beauty of the world cease when you die?, features a broad range of mediums including on-site installations, print and photography, that have been combined to provide a multi-faceted and immersive exhibition. Anderson’s short story discuss the interaction between an old oak tree and a May fly. The tree feels pity for the fly as he views his ephemeral life…

  • Picture This: Belfast Photo Festival

    June 20, 2017 - By 

    Sensory Deprivation – © Juno Calypso 2016 Belfast Photo Festival returns to the Northern Irish capital for the month of June. The main theme for this year’s biennial is Sexuality & Gender, with eleven exhibitions taking place across Belfast discussing this topic. As well as the festival’s main brief a number of exhibitions discussing other subjects are integrated within the programme along with a host of talks, workshops and events. With the current social and political environments that exist on this island, and further a field, a look at the role of gender in society, and specifically the ability of the…

  • Exhibition: Dennis Dinneen @ Douglas Hyde Gallery

    May 26, 2017 - By 

    Today and tomorrow are the last chances to see an extensive selection from the Dennis Dinneen archive in The Douglas Hyde Gallery. Operating out of the room adjacent to this pub in Macroom, County Cork between the ’50s and ’70s, Dinneen captured an Ireland that has faded in recent decades. The imagery created is an important sociological document of an Ireland transitioning from the a newly established country to entering the European fold in the start of the 1970s. The Church stilled loomed large in community affairs and emigration had become an all too frequent bedfellow. Dennis Dinneen continues in The Douglas Hyde…

  • Picture This: The Recount of Conflict @ Pallas Projects

    May 11, 2017 - By 

    © Jasper Bastian – Across The River What: The Recount of Conflict Where: Pallas Studios, Dublin When: 4th to 14th May {Recount: noun, An act or instance of giving an account of an event or experience. Conflict: noun, A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one; a state of mind in which a person experiences a clash of opposing feelings or needs.} It is the collation, and subsequent narrative extraction, that solidifies The Recount of Conflict as both a successful exhibition, in terms of expression and discourse, and as an introductory platform for seven artists. On initial surface value, the imagery…

  • PhotoIreland Festival Launch

    May 4, 2017 - By 

    Having moved from its traditional July slot to the start of Summer, the PhotoIreland Festival launches tonight in Dublin’s Tara Building from 7pm. Previous incarnations of the month long arts festival have seen artists being invited to respond to a specific theme, this year sees a shift in that practice as the invitation has been to respond to a specific place – Marsh’s Library, the 18th Century library nestled in St. Patrick’s Close adjacent to the cathedral.  As well as this main brief there are looks at the Hispanic World as well as bodies of work by Michal Iwanowski and Steven Nestor, with the…

  • Exhibition: THF @ Belfast Exposed

    May 23, 2017 - By 

    This week is the last to see Aisling McCoy’s exhibition THF in Belfast Exposed. The project sees McCoy explore and respond to the now closed Berlin airport Tempelhofer Feld – THF was it’s International Air Transport Association airport code. Tempelhofer Feld was original constructed by the government of the Weimar Republic, but underwent a massive expansion and redesigned in 1936 when it was envisioned by the Nazi regime as being the ‘Gateway to Europe’ for a post-World War II Germany. Since closing permanently as an airport in 2008 has undergone main guises from hosting fairs and marathon events. Since late-2015 it has also become…

  • Interactions @ Belfast Exposed

    February 18, 2017 - By 

    Today is that last to see Belfast Exposed’s Interactions exhibition. The show sees photographic artists who have taken part in the gallery’s Futures Programme over the last two years who have come together to explore human presence in both real and imaginary landscapes. Some of the most exciting photographers in Ireland are featured in the exhibition, including Ciaran Og Arnold (2015 First Book Award winner), Yvette Monahan (2016 Solas Prize shortlist) and Jan McCullough (2015 Kassel Fotobookfestival Dummy Award). The work on show is a combination of past projects displayed alongside new pieces of work, and represents a fantastic opportunity to catch some…

  • Track Record: Somadrone

    April 29, 2014 - By 

    Electronic producer/musician Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone sits down with Ian Pearce to give his ten LPs that have influenced him. Somadrone’s fourth album, The First Wave, which was recorded in San Francisco and Brooklyn and released in December 2013, is available to buy now via the Bodytonic website. White Noise – An Electric Storm Sixties English Psychedelic Music, but with a twist. Delia Derbyshire, who was part of BBC Radiophonic workshop, did all the electronics, which are stunning. This record was a big one for Broadcast. I went to see them play in the Sugar Club a good few years back. It…