Works from recent group shows
2012
Last, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
OH, Pop up group show with SIM artists in residence. Iceland
“Iceland did the right thing by making sure its payment systems continued to function while creditors, not the taxpayers, shouldered the losses of banks. Ireland’s done all the wrong things, on the other hand. That’s probably the worst model.” Joseph Stiglitiz
So is everything better in Iceland ? The newspapers keep telling us we need to learn from Iceland. But we getting the full story? And if so what should we learn?
I asked the Icelandic people to complete a questionnaire based on a recent newspaper article in The Irish Times, 24/10/2011 - link below -
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0924/1224304661287.html#.Tn6Aaw-ZnHo.email
The work is exploring the sameness of the Irish and Icelandic crisis, while comparing the personalities involved in the boom and bust. Respondents replied to the statements made in the article so for example:
89% of respondents disagreed that the opening of Harpa symbolises the rebirth of Iceland while 90% disagreed that the banking problem has been overcome and 65% believe that Iceland is not a role model for Ireland on how to get out of the financial crisis.
All the while trying to pick up some tips for our government about what can be learnt from a moral standpoint. The project is on-going.
2011
They have eyes, Ennistymon, Ireland
Dreams, Centre of Photograph, Colorado, USA
2009
Public Gesture – The Lab, Dublin,
As part of the exhibition I ran an after schools art class in Liberty House flats for six months which is within the local community of The Lab. Liberty House flats, which re due to be demolished is known for its high crime rates and drug problems.
The focus of the work was on the process rather than the object, concerned with the actual doing, the creative journey or process rather than an end product Following the completion of the project I produced a neon light text work which was shown in The Lab. The words allowed me to circumnavigate image and avoided some of the cliché’s associated with working in the particular locality.