Taking Selfies, Taking Notes and Taking a Journey around the Dublin Art Scene.
In this ongoing series, avid exhibition goer Sveta Antonova gives us her thoughts on what’s happening in the Dublin Art scene right now, documented with selfies.
Troika Fiscal Disobedience Consultancy | Núria Güell | Project Arts Centre
This was my second time visiting ‘Troika Fiscal Disobedience Consultancy’, a solo exhibition by Núria Güell in collaboration with Catalan activist Enric Duran. I didn’t have enough time to focus on the videos during my first visit, so I came back and took some time off to watch and listen.
Núria, in a complex legal process, opened a Consultancy Agency for Fiscal and Public Disobedience – an extremely conceptual piece of work. This gets visual as a website. What you can see entering the space is a table with a computer, yellow tulips, business cards, a logo and some white clocks in different international times on the wall. You are free to sit down and use the Consultancy as a real Office Consultancy, you will get advice – and an invoice.
To visually and historically accompany the artist’s work, Tessa Giblin (the curator) chose, in agreement with Núria, four videos to be displayed opposite the office. The videos are documentaries and art films about civil disobedience in different countries and cultural backgrounds – they are all quiet long, but I found them very informative and interesting – and very present, talking about Greece, Europe and Russia today.
The exhibition is open until the 19th of March, every day until late 11am – 8pm, closed on Sundays.
Framing Perception | Graeme Robertson | National Photographic Archive
The Gallery of Photography, situated opposite the National Photographic Archive, is such a beautiful and unique architectural space, but the last and the current exhibition were not about photography – in my opinion, which makes the current exhibition concept look a bit unfocused from my point of view. Though their book store is one of the best I’ve ever seen!
Currently, ‘Framing Perception’ by Graeme Robertson is on display until the 6th of March. It consists of a collection of photographs of people with disabilities living in India and Uganda, mostly blind.
Those photographs are all professionally made and look nice for what they are, but in my opinion, they are photojournalism and not photography as an art practice. This is what I didn’t like about this and the last show.
It is not about the photographs themselves and the concept behind, it is about the story the people on the photographs tell and the viewer’s reaction of sensationalism. I don’t see the need, why those stories had to be photographed, hence I don’t see an artistic value in them. Speaking of journalism though, they are perfect. I’m not saying that the topic of living with disabilities in other countries is not of importance or emotionally fiery, but in the way it is documented and presented here, I feel it is journalism and not visual art. I expected to see art.
Nevertheless, I spent a long time in the book store browsing through and learning about the history of Irish photography.
The gallery is open daily 11am – 6pm, Sunday 1pm – 6pm and closed Mondays.
Imitation of Life | Amie Siegel | Temple Bar Gallery
The Temple Bar Gallery is always a nice spot to hop in and explore. today, the solo show, ‘Imitation of Life‘, by American artist Amie Siegel is on display, consisting of two 30 minute films in two areas of the gallery.
First I walked into the half white, half glass tunnel of the gallery to enter a door at the other end. Here, in the first room, you can see ‘Quarry’. Walking through and to the left, ‘The Architects’ is on screen at the second room.
I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell you what those films are about, since they create a particular mood in both rooms which has to be experienced together with the sound, darkness and material on screen. What I can say is, that this exhibition is a calm one, no sensations and surprises in your face. The artist’s delving into the world of architectural construction and luxury real estate becomes meditative, absurd and sarcastic.
This show, curated by Megs Moerley, is definitely worth a look and worth the time, it is on until the 2nd of April.
Open Tuesday until Saturday 10am – 6pm.
Pilot Fig.3 Ep.1 | Matt Sheridan Smith | Mother’s Tankstation
Mother’s Tankstation is one of my favourite places in Dublin; the concept of the space, the architecture, appearance, selected artists and publications play together nicely in what I would call a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ – a famous Germanism.
It was one of those situations, where you feel like a grown-up, having afternoon tea with your art friend on a weekend day and going to a gallery to talk about contemporary art after instead of going to the pub, keeping up with the seriousness of your surroundings. It’s good to have those situations from time to time!
Back to the art though, Matt Sheridan Smith‘s second solo show ‘Pilot Fig.3 Ep.1’ is on display at the Tankstation until the 9th of April.
It’s about rethinking, reframing and reinterpreting the limits of portraiture from an aesthetic and conceptual point of view. Sometimes the exhibition feels a bit frozen and then brightens up with ‘D.B.‘ (Disconnected Neon Lettering) or gestures of a formal sculpture like ‘A mulligan, perhaps’ (Putting mat, chrome-plated scones, laurel plant). So frozen is not a negative, it is a state of uncertainty and surrealism in this case.
And ‘formal’ is probably a good word to describe Matt’s conceptual practice.
If you go – I do recommend to – have a look in the back room at Mother’s Tankstation annual publications. They are well made and give a deeper insight in the manifesto and aesthetic variety of the gallery’s artists.
The Tankstation is open Thursday to Saturday 12midday – 6pm and by appointment. You have to ring the house bell and wait to be let in.
HALF WAY TO ZERO | Collaborating Artists | Yellow Box Student Gallery
‘HALFWAY TO ZERO’ at the Yellow Box – for those who never been – this is the big, yellow container on the grounds of NCAD at Thomas Street, free to visit for every one! Normally, the exhibitions at the Box are only on for one night and are usually very crowded, so was this one.
Fashion student Annique van Niekerk, collaborated with curator Susannah Appleby and animators Cesca Saunders and Liing Heaney to create a research-based exhibition of work in progress on the topic of social notions and solutions for waste, recycling and down-cycling in our economy.
Do I consume with intelligence? Is it a cooperative project between the consumer and the designer to avoid landfill poisoning the earth somewhere at a place out of my sight? A clever investigation on recycling cycles in design in a red and white aesthetic. Fashion, animations, sculptures and interactive pieces come together nicely in this small but nice space.
