The Douglas Hyde Gallery is currently playing host to two uniquely different exhibitions. The first exhibition combined works by Irish-born visual artist Sean Lynch from two recent projects, A Walk Through Time and What is an Apparatus?, with the second, Croquis, exploring Art Deco and Art Nouveau designs for ties.
According to the Douglas Hyde Gallery, in A Walk Through Time, Lynch explores narratives and the ways in which history and culture are retold by photographing a series of dioramas created by Keith Pain in 2001 as part of an exhibition in the Burren Centre in Kilfenora. Pain’s dioramas explore the development of the region from primordial time to the Middle Ages, depicting scenes like the slaughtering of a bear, a family frozen in time and snapshots of the sea and its inhabitants.
In the photographs of the sea dioramas, pops of red, yellow and pink provide a contrast with the blue of the ocean and guide the viewer’s eye within the images and between Lynch’s series of photographs. While the photographs are visually interesting, I found it difficult to engage with the art in front of me, quickly glancing from photograph to photograph across the gallery walls instead of taking the time to view each image individually.
The use of flash is reminiscent of pictures taken with disposable cameras, creating an effect of overexposure and a deep contrast between the colors. In one image, a flashback is visible, almost as if accidental, concealing elements of the photograph. Through the use of flash and overexposure, Lynch creates painterly qualities within the individual images.
Interestingly, Lynch is photographing moments that are already frozen in time. Almost hidden underneath the staircase is a photograph of two animal skeletons. Here, the use of flash highlights the fear in the bird skeleton’s eyes, creating an engaging contrast with its skeletal form.
In the centre of the room, the viewer is met with a large artefact, the Tau Cross of Kilnaboy. The artefact, which bears great local importance, is unprotected and easily accessible to the audience, allowing the viewer to circumvent and engage with the stone. The inclusion of a local artefact in the exhibition manages to both contrast with and compliment the subject of the photographs, offering a unique exploration of narratives and storytelling throughout history.
The stone additionally provides a bridge between A Walk Through Time and What is an Apparatus?, a video of Lynch’s travels in North America and Europe, where, according to the Douglas Hyde Gallery, he explores the role of the apparatus, one such being the dioramas Lynch photographed in A Walk Through Time, in fables and narratives from the various locations he visited.
Gallery 2, located adjacent to the primary space in the Douglas Hyde Gallery, provided an intimate setting for Croquis, offering an appropriate space for the viewer to explore the small, intricate sketches. A series of the works were laid out on a large white table, inviting the audience to take a closer look, while a selection were hung on the walls, offering a welcomed pop of color against the primarily white space.
The exhibitions will run until April 5th, 2017. Admission is free.
