Modern Nature
VISUAL ART
Modern Nature
Outdoor photography exhibition curated by Yvette Monahan featuring artists Sean Breithaupt, Robert Ellis, Stephen Gill and Miriam O'Connor
Sat 06 July – Sat 31 Aug
Event Details
Times & Dates:
Sat 06 July – Sat 31 Aug
Official opening The Model, Saturday July 06, 4pm
Duration:
All Day
Event Categories:
Visual Art
Admission:
Free
Age Suitability:
All Ages
Venue:
Rosses Point Village Green
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This exhibition explores how Modern Nature is represented through photography today.
It takes the late filmmaker, writer, gardener, artist and activist Derek Jarman’s (1942- 1994) autobiographical canvas of the intermingling of art and life as its title and point of departure.
As Derek Jarman explained to the painter Maggi Hambling, his interests did not entirely square with those of a stately Victorian naturalist. Ah, I understand completely, she replied. You’ve discovered modern nature. Jarman wrote about the unlikely oasis he created in an unforgiving physical and psychological landscape.
Yvette has invited four other photographers who explore notions of Modern Nature, including interrelated personal, political, scientific, and psychological concerns.
Navigating Modern Nature
Alongside the exhibition, there will be an event entitled ‘Navigating Modern Nature’. A walk and talk event around Coney Island to accompany the photographic exhibition. The event will feature a series of readings chosen by each of the four photographers, the curator, and a local writer and historian. The readings will reflect the themes and concepts explored in the exhibition.
The group will meet outside McGowan’s pub on Coney Island, at midday. The walk will last approximately 1 hour with participants stopping to read and reflect.
Starting Point: McGowans pub at 12pm on Sat 06 July
Tides: Low tide will be 12:46 pm and high tide will be 7:22 pm
We encourage attendees to car-pool when possible.
For tide updates, text CONEY to 51155.
Miriam O’Connor is a visual artist from Cork. In her practice she draws inspiration from the sights, sounds and language of everyday life. She is curious about the multifaceted roles photography occupies in culture and the manner in which this persuasive medium permeates the way we engage with the world around us. Rather than providing answers, O’ Connor positions photography as a tool for posing questions, a playful medium that commands attention and analysis. Following her relocation to the family farm in recent years, O’Connor now occupies a dual role of farmer and artist, where she is interested in engaging with the elasticity of the photographic medium through everyday agricultural life.
Recent work includes Not Business As Usual, a new commission with the Glucksman and Cork University Business School for the UCC Art Collection (2023), The Fertiliser Spreader in, A Growing Enquiry, Art and Agriculture at the Royal Hibernian Academy (2022), Camera at the Mart at Roscommon Arts Centre (2022). Publications include, the Condition Report Register (2022), Tomorrow is Sunday (2020), The Legacy Project (2013) and Attention Seekers (2012).
#Untitled 1, ‘Tomorrow is Sunday’ — Miriam O’ Connor
Sean Breithaupt is a professional photographer based in Dublin with over 15 years of experience. His work explores current environmental issues and themes.
Sean has won the Curtin O'Donoghue award for his work on Plastic waste and through The Alliance Francaise Dublin was able to exhibit work at COP 21 in Paris. His current project looks at the beauty of Ireland's wild untouched boglands, showing what might be possible for similar landscapes damaged through human activity. He is an accredited member of The AOP.
‘Turraun Wetlands - Lough Boora’ — Sean Breithaupt
Stephen Gill (b. 1971, Bristol, UK) became interested in photography in his early childhood, thanks to his father and interest in insects and initial obsession with collecting bits of pond life to inspect under his microscope.
Stephen’s photographs are held in various private and public collections and have also been exhibited at many international galleries and museums including London’s National Portrait Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Museum of London, Agnes B, Victoria Miro Gallery, Christophe Guye Gallery, Sprengel Museum, Tate, Centre National de l’audiovisual, Galerie Zur Stockeregg, Archive of Modern Conflict, Gun Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, Palais des Beaux Arts, Leighton House Museum, Haus Der Kunst and has had solo shows in festivals including – Recontres d’Arles, The Toronto photography festival, Festival Images – Vevey and PHotoEspaña.
‘Common Buzzard’ — Stephen Gill
Robert Ellis is an Irish photographer and lecturer who completed his MFA in Photography from the University of Ulster in Belfast (2011), having previously graduated with a BA Hons Degree in Photography from Dublin Institute of Photography (2007). Recent solo exhibitions in 2017 include Belfast Exposed Gallery, Peckham 24 as part of Photo London, and The Library Project in Temple Bar.
His work is held in several private collections including the Northern Ireland Arts Council. He has been featured on a number of online platforms including The British Journal of Photography, FlakPhoto and This is Paper. In 2014 he was invited as an emerging European photographer to participate in Plat(t)form at the Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland.
He was commissioned by Curator Valerie Connor for Golden Mountain, TULCA Visual Arts Festival. His work was featured in New Irish Works as part of PhotoIreland Festival 2013, including the publication of the same name. He is currently a photography lecturer at Griffith College and the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.
Untitled, 'From the Shadows'— Robert Ellis