|
Home |
|
Profile |
|
Gaeilge |
|
Exhibitions |
|
Blog |
|
Links |
|
Contact |
|
Caoineadh/Elegies at Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast |
|
From the Press Release… An exhibition of paintings by Dublin based artist Eoin Mac Lochlainn opens at the Crumlin Road Gaol in North Belfast on the 25th of August, 2009. The paintings, which are installed in the cells of C Wing, were first conceived as ‘elegies’ to those who suffer because of conflicts around the world. The work also explores ideas about the media and ‘spectacle’, and how photography and painting differ and compete as modes of representation. Crumlin Road Gaol is one of North Belfast’s landmark historic buildings and it is being renovated and developed as part of the regeneration of the whole area. It is hoped that art will play a significant role in this regeneration project. Mac Lochlainn graduated from NCAD in Dublin in 2000. He has exhibited widely around Ireland and has also participated in group shows in London, the Hague, in Copenhagen and in China. He had a solo show in the RHA (Ashford Gallery) in Dublin in 2002. He won The Golden Fleece Award for his work in 2008. He is represented by The Paul Kane Gallery in Dublin. ARTIST’S STATEMENT- I take images from the media as the subjects of my paintings. We are continually bombarded with a multiplicity of images and it is easy to become inurred to the personal stories that lie behind each image. A personal tragedy, like the loss of a loved one for instance, is sensationally ‘splashed’ across the newspapers one day and then quickly forgotten when the next story is presented. Wars and atrocities give way to further wars and atrocities. The endless supply of stories and images tend to lose their effect… But by taking an image and using it as the subject of a painting, it emphasises the importance of that image, that personal story. In a way, it subverts the notion of the “15 minutes of fame”. The work invites the viewer to look again, to delve a little deeper and think about the implications behind the image. However, rather than make finite statements about the work, I prefer to allow the viewer to bring his or her own associations to bear on it. It is a special privilege for me to show my work in the context of the CrumLin Road Gaol. I am keenly aware of it’s dark history and associations, and of the depth of feeling that this former prison engenders. Rather than take on the politics of the situation, the art seeks to address the human side - and perhaps, in some way to reach towards mutual understanding and healing. |
