Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)

Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) at the Wandesford Quay Gallery

The curators of this exhibition, Tom Dalton and David Upton, began the process of curation by visiting the artist studios, and asking to see work, including work that may be something new or unresolved. Having looked at the work they devised the theme and selected the artists and work.

My two photographs shown are from a series I made in Paris last year while staying at The Centre Cultural Irlandais, as part of my Alliance Photography Laureate award. Armed with my twin lens reflex I approached the Physics dept. at the University of Paris and asked if I could photograph their old instruments of measurement. I was interested in them as objects whose function is described in their form. They could well still perform their function, but they are not needed to.

I was also interested in the beauty of the objects, brass and wood and made by hand. I photographed them outside the men’s toilets where I liked the light and their beauty against the irreverent old tiles.

In Paris I used an old film camera, whose function is described it its form, to make these photos. It too has been superseded by more modern cameras, but these newer models can not reproduce the particular qualities of this old camera & the photographs it produces.

Instruments of Measurement and Conduction, University of Paris N8 and N18, 
12"x12" unmounted fiber based silver gelatin hand prints © Roseanne Lynch, 2012

 Noli Me Tangere (Touch me not) is a Backwater Artist Group Exhibition. It continues to run from 16^th Nov – 1^st December 2012 at the Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork.

Noli Me Tangere

Noli Me Tangere meaning 'Touch Me Not' is an exhibition featuring the work of 14 artists from the Backwater Artists Group, including some of my own work, and is curated by Tom Dalton and David Upton.

Noli me tangere, when viewed through the lens of these artworks, creates an in-between state, bordering the surreal, conjuring associations of the supernatural and the otherworldly. This statement can simply be interpreted as a physical distance between viewer and subject while some works suggest a conceptual intangibility, where the viewer is faced with an ambiguity of intention. In positioning the work as either the threat or the threatened, an element of danger and vulnerability comes into play.

You can read more on the Wandesford Quay Gallery website. You are all very welcome to the opening reception on November 16th at 6pm. The exhibition will run Monday to Staurday from 10am- 6pm until the 1st December at the Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork.

Culture Night 2012

Tonight I will be in my studio welcoming visitors for Culture Night 2012. Backwater Artist's Studios will be open to visitors from 6pm - 10pm with guided tours every 30min. There will also be an exhibition by a former member Ray Lawlor entitled Objects In and About Things and light refreshments will be available.

There are over 200 free events in over 80 venues across the city for Culture Night tonight. You can find all the information on the Culture Night website or available to download in the free brochure. Enjoy yourselves and I hope to see some of you at my studio, which is no.4 on the interactive map below if you need directions.



View Culture Night Cork City 2012 in a larger map

Recent Exhibitions

The last few weeks have been busy since my return from Paris. My work is currently show ing in two exhibitions and another on has just finished up. Here are a few photos of the work in place.

First a snapshot of Untitled [chh1] hanging in the Elysian in the exhibition Art Work Embassy as part of Art Trail Cork 2011. The photograph to the left is by Pádraig Spillane. All the my photographs in these exhibitions were printed by Tony at RightBrain. Art Trail and the Art Work Embassy exhibition continues until Sunday 4th December, so if you're around Cork this weekend you should pop in to see it.

Untitled [chh1] in Art Work Embassy at The Elysian, Cork

If you're in Dublin this weekend there's an exhibition for you to visit too. The Rua Red Winter Show continues until the 10th December. I wasn't able to make the opening as I was still in Paris so I'd like to thank Miriam O'Connor who was also part of the exhibition for taking these photos for me.

Rua Red Winter Show 2011 (© Miriam O'Connor)

Untitled [uu1] at the Rua Red Winter Show 2011 (© Miriam O'Connor)

And finally a photo from Place Space an exhibition of the Backwater Artists Group in the Wandesford Quay Art Gallery that finished up last weekend. The piece on the wall to the left is by Frank McGrath.

Untitled [uu1] in Place Space at the Wandesford Quay Art Gallery

Cork Art Trail

Art Trail Programme

So I'm back from Paris and I'm straight back into it here in Cork. Tonight Cork Art Trail opens in the ground floor of the Elysian (Eglinton St.) from 6 - 9pm. Art Trail is an annual contemporary Arts Festival in Cork City and this years theme is "National Interest". Cork, One of the major highlights & hub of the festival is Art Work Embassy, a large scale exhibition in the Elysian which brings together artists & artwork from lots of different arts groups, organisations & collectives in Cork. I have a new piece in the show as part of the Backwater Artists Group which I am looking forward to seeing hung.

Untitled [chh1] by Roseanne Lynch being printed at RightBrain (Photo by Tony O'Brien)

Please see the Art Trail Programme (above) for further details and information on the many events and exhibitions running throughout the festival

Art Trail runs from Friday 18th November to Sunday 4th December. Art Work Embassy runs from Saturday 19th November to Sunday 4th December from 12pm - 6pm daily in the ground floor of the Elysian, Eglinton St., Cork.

Place Space is a selected exhibition of work by 17 artists from the Backwater Artists Group. It opens tonight (Wed 9th) at 7pm at the Wandesford Quay Art Gallery. One of my pieces is in the exhibition although unfortunately I can't make the opening as I'm still in Paris. The exhibition was curated by Julia Jansen and Tony O'Connor.

The exhibition is part of a larger open studio event called Open 2011 from 16th -23rd November. The studios will be open to the public Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th beginning with tea & cakes at noon on Saturday and artists talks through out the day. Guided group tours will also be available during the week but need to be booked in advance. Click here to download the Open 2011 brochure for more information.

Place Space runs from 9th -26th of November 2011 at Wandesford Quay Art Gallery, Cork.

Cork Culture Night & Last Chance to See Fort Camden Commissions

This weekend is a busy one for the arts in Cork. Friday night, 23rd September, is Culture Night, the annual event where over 75 of the city's cultural venues are open late for one night only with hundreds of events happening for free. You can download the program here. At Backwater Artists Studios we will be having an open night with tours of the studios every half hour as well as tea & buns. I'll be giving the tour at 7.30 & 8pm and I'd love to see you there.

Also opening on Culture Night is Memento in the James Barry Exhibition Centre in CIT. This exhibition is a result of an international Erasmus project, exploring the notion of memory and recollection. This work emerged from intensive workshops delivered across various institutions in Europe. You might remember that I was involved in running workshops both here in Cork at the Crawford College of Art & Design and at the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Enschede, Holland. Its an exhibition worth seeing. You can see photos from the Memento exhibition in Holland here.

Fort Camden by Joleen Cronin via the Rescue Camden website

This weekend is also the last weekend to see the Cork County Council and Fort Camden art commissions at Fort Camden in Crosshaven. This includes my piece Document II, a site specific piece documenting the passing of time through the changing light. Fort Camden will also have a number of different events for all the family running this weekend including over 40 reenactors and the Barracks Street Band. Check out the Fort Camden Facebook page for more details.

Culture Night Website - Cork City
Cork City Council Culture Night Website
Cork City Arts Facebook Page

Rescue Camden Website
Fort Camden Facebook Page

Backwater Twenty-10 Book

Backwater Artists Group is twenty years old this year. To celebrate they have published a book with the work of over 120 artists who have been part of the group over this time. It is "a snapshot of the breathtaking diversity and depths of creativity from within Backwater Artists Group and the visual arts in Cork City."

From Top to Bottom : P26/27 - Stephen McGlynn, Aoife O'Brien. P42/43 - Sarah Roche, Roseanne Lynch. P44/45- Amanda Rice, Allanah Byrne. P96/97 - Tony Magner, Wesley Triggs. P110 - Julia Pallone

You can see one of my photographs, 'Untitled [o'f16]' ,on page 43.The book costs €46.95 and can be purchased through Blurb, where you can also see a complete preview. I'm looking forward to receiving my copy!

Cork Culture Night 2010 at the Backwater Artist Group

Culture Night 2010 will take place this Friday 24th September. There are over 60 galleries, museums, studios and cultural institutions open late in Cork for the night. The Backwater Artists Group is one of the places open to the public that night, from 6pm - 10pm. I'll be there assisting with tours of the studios (every half hour). There will be exhibitions of artist's work including Macropsia, an installation by artist Marianne Keating and oil paintings by Gary Kearney, and there will be some light refreshments available. This is a great opportunity to see my work in my studio and in celebration of Culture Night I'm giving 10% off any of my photographs sold on the night.

Backwater Artists Group is located on Wandesford Quay. Bus Éireann is running special Culture Night buses, leaving from City Hall every 20 min from 7pm-10pm. We are on the Red Bus Route. Please see the Culture Night Programme for a map (Backwater Artists is no. 3 on the map) and more details of the Bus Routes.