POST - STATE

“Like any good dystopian movie, I leave Post-State equally relieved and unnerved, relieved to be back in the wonderfully un-apocalyptic bustle of the city centre on a bright autumn day, unnerved at the thought that maybe the apocalypse has already taken place, but I was just too distracted to notice it.” Ria Czerniak-LeBov.

The full review is here.

Post-State is a body of work consisting of landscapes and found objects photographed all around Ireland. The works were recently on view in my first solo exhibition in the RHA Ashford Gallery, October - November 2022.

This work is concerned with issues of belonging, trust, group identities and the vulnerabilities inherent in how we currently structure our civilisation, foregrounding individualism and narrow nationalism rather than identifying and behaving as members of a common humanity.

Along with Flag no. 87, Flag no. 66 ( above) was also selected for the Order/ Chaos exhibition in dlr Lexicon and used as the poster image. It was subsequently invited to be part of the T.R.A.ce Group show in the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, and was in the first Ballinglen Biennale. Other works were shown in exhibitions in SO Fine Art Editions, HALFTONE at The Library Project and in Changing States: Ireland in the 21st Century in Berlin, the largest show of contemporary Irish photography ever mounted outside the country.

Flag no. 6 (below) was selected for the Royal Ulster Academy annual show in 2021, and the following image is one of three included in the Gallery of Photography’s PROTEST! exhibition in Dublin from April 21st to June 11th 2022.

Here are links to an Irish Times article on the show , an RTE Culture feature, a radio interview on Dublin City FM ( starts at 1:30) and one on RTE’s Arena.

Post-State is available as a touring exhibition and editioned archival pigment prints are available for sale from SO Fine Art Editions. Please enquire via email for a digital catalogue of the entire show.

This project has been supported by a 2021 Arts Council Visual Arts Agility Award.

The image below was selected for the ‘Displacement and Belonging’ - Home Spring open show in Rua Red, South Dublin. It was auctioned by Adams in aid of the Simon Community.