As everyone knows, Irish culture and its motifs have been having a serious moment for a while now. This revival seems to be going from strength to strength, and the fact that this heritage remains a rich and fruitful source of inspiration is abundantly clear this Dublin Independent Fashion Week, with the exhibition of Aisling Annamh at Kirkos, the intimate redbrick venue at 1 Little Green Street, Smithfield. Aisling Annamh is a multidisciplinary exhibition, a week-long accompaniment to a performance of sound and poetry on Saturday, the 27th of September. The exhibition showcases the work of numerous artists and designers, spanning sculpture, jewellery, knitwear, music, and poetry. These artists and designers are, in no particular order, Solstice by Seeking Judy, by Megan McGuigan, Alana Conlon, Luke Brosnahan, Juno, and Molly May O’Leary and Pippa Moloney, who will perform together on Saturday.
Irish culture is a central theme to this exhibit, and its title, Aisling Annamh, translated as “a rare dream or vision”, promises a dreamlike atmosphere, something unique and unusual. It does not disappoint. The setting is fairly small, well spaced, and drenched in dreamlike ambient music which feels both mysterious and familiar.
To the left, the exhibition shows the work of Megan McGuigan’s Solstice by Seeking Judy, a collection of knitwear that features sophisticated, high-fashion silhouettes in rich and varied knitted patterns and textures. The pieces are made of 100% wool, in earthy tones which embody the exhibition’s themes of Irish culture and rebirth, as seen in the act of weaving and knitting itself, using traditional methods to make modern pieces that weave past, present, and future. There is an element of storytelling to the exhibit, which is only elaborated upon as you work your way through the space.
In the centre of the space is Juno’s piece, “Alma mater,” further elaborating on the exhibition’s theme of rebirth. The piece is thought-provoking and poignant: its imagery is elusive and naturalistic in a primordial way. Its use of running water, through a waterlogged, organic-looking sack and into a pool of lily pads, adds to the sonic aspect of the exhibition. It is surreal, highlighting the mysticism that is inherent in the ancient aspects of Irish identity, of rebirth, and of human experience as a whole.
Finally, the storytelling element of Aisling Annamh reaches its pinnacle with its display of Alana Conlon’s silver jewellery collection, “dream fragments”. This collection is a fresh interpretation of the traditional motifs in Irish jewellery, making use of spirals and hands, dynamic and reaching toward one another, no longer still and tied to the claddagh. Each piece depicts a scene in the myth “Aislinge Óenghusa”, translated as “The Dream of Oengus.” It is a myth of dreams, love, transmutation, and the Otherworld; the spirals, hands, thorns, and structures of this collection reflect these themes in a way that is both creative and inspired. The rich symbolism of these pieces and the myth that they depict are made accessible to the viewer through the booklet that accompanies the display. These pieces recognisably use familiar motifs, yet are made anew and incredibly stylish.
Explorations like this of Irish identity are not only artistically beautiful, but more necessary than ever in a political environment where identity is used to further nationalist impulses that harm culture, rather than protecting it as they claim to. The collaborative nature of the exhibition, which is both unique and cohesive itself, expands on the aspect of collectivity that characterises Irish identity. Culture is cyclical, in that it is always growing and reinventing itself, or being reborn. Aisling Annamh embodies this cycle of rebirth perfectly, while displaying art and design that are beautiful and unique. Ultimately, the Aisling Annamh exhibition is relevant while maintaining a claim to original artistic expression. It is a thoughtful marriage of past, present, and future, and the storytelling that defines them. Rather than “bringing Irish culture to the present”, the artists and designers behind Aisling Annamh allow Irish culture to inspire the present and bring it to the future.
