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 It too has been superseded by more modern cameras, but these newer models can not reproduce the particular qualities of this old camera & the photographs it produces.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.

Show

Show 3, © Roseanne Lynch 2012

On Monday we took down Show.

The satisfying feeling of relief. It is done. It has happened.

A few days after the opening, as I was taking installation shots, I was struck by how the space did not feel like mine anymore.  The work was a very personal response to the site. I lived and talked inside my head and on the pages of my sketchbook for the duration of the making of the work. But as soon as I handed it over and opened the doors it became yours, not mine. I did not expect to feel so distant from it.

Another unexpected happening was the effect on the surface of Show 1, the first piece inside the door to the left. Approaching it from inside the space, the image became immaterial and the vinyl material and it’s light reflecting quality became the thing, linking it to the metal piece, Show 2, which had no image printed on it.

Yet another delight was while taking down Show 1, as Pam and I peeled the image off the wall, it became something else again, a form moulded by light, not an image.

Show 1, © Roseanne Lynch 2012

Show 2, © Roseanne Lynch 2012

A word about the opening.

It was a blast, the fact that I was voiceless for 3 days after it explains alot.

I am so grateful to Mark St John Ellis of Nag, New Art Gallery, 59 Francis Street, Dublin, for preforming the opening and entertaining us with his informed speech. I like being in the same sentence as John Cage.

Thank you to family, friends, colleagues and students who made it all so enjoyable, and to the brilliant curatorial duo, Stag and Deer, Pádraig Spillane and Pamela Condell. The event that was THERE THERE was their inspiration and they brought an amazing series of exhibitions to Cork.

 Official opening of Show by Roseanne Lynch & 

The Yellow River by Zhang Kechun, © Jedrzej Niezgoda 2012

 Stag & Deer aka Pádraig Spillane & Pamela Condell 

address the audience, © Jedrzej Niezgoda 2012

Mark St. John Ellis' opening speech, © Jedrzej Niezgoda 2012

Visitors contemplate the work © Jedrzej Niezgoda 2012

And now....... Show has occupied my mind since May of this year and now, having had a deep breath, I am so looking forward to getting back to the pages of my sketchbook that are paper clipped together. They have my ‘other ideas for work’ and I had secured them closed so as not to distract me until I could give them time. 

This is the fourth and final post in a series on the process of creating a site responsive exhibition Show at the Copley Street School of Architecture for There, There, a photographic event curated by Stag & Deer in Cork this October. You can see the other posts in the series here and here and here.

Show - Work in Progress #3

This is the third post in a series on the process of creating a site responsive exhibition Show at the Copley Street School of Architecture for There, There, a photographic event curated by Stag & Deer in Cork later in October. You can see the other posts in the series here and here.

Sketchbook Page showing Work in Progress, © Roseanne Lynch 2012

My next step was to find a printer who I could work with to get the size of the prints I needed. I visited Uptime Printing in Bandon and we discussed different types of papers. I want the images to be a part of the building so rather than having them framed and detached from the wall I want them to be stuck directly to the structure. This led me to look at both glossy and matt self adhesive vinyls.

I returned to the space with a 2 test strips and a cheap photocopy of the full image that I made to test the final size in the space. I immediately saw that the images have a presence in the space at that size and that 2 large images  would work better than the 3 smaller images I had originally envisioned. I decided that although the blacks were deeper in the glossy test strip the reflections and shine were too distracting from the photo itself and I much preferred the matt test strip.

I gave the printers the go ahead to print. Now I wait. There is nothing more I can do for the moment. I'm finding this frustrating as I usually make my own prints  and so I'm not used to giving away control. This time there is no way for me to know for sure if this will work until I get the final prints.

Show will open Saturday 20th October at 3pm in the ground floor of the School of Architecture on Copley Street, Cork.

Show - Work in Progress #2

 This is the second post in a series on the process of creating a site responsive exhibition Show at the Copley Street School of Architecture for There, There, a photographic event curated by Stag & Deer in Cork later in October. You can see the first post in the series here.

Sketchbook Page showing Work in Progress, ©Roseanne Lynch 2012

Having taken a series of images and printing them 20”x24” I put them back into the space to see how I felt about them. It was immediately obvious that 20”x24” prints, the largest prints I can easily make in the darkroom, looked like postage stamps when I put them on the 6m wall where they will be shown. I also found the variation in composition between the images was a distraction, and the reflections of the glossy prints was another thing I was not happy about. So, the solution was to re shoot, keeping the rhythm of the pillars the same, and so refining the content to the creeping of the light over the wooden wall and the subtle environmental differences. Scale and effect of the prints in the space is my other concern. More larger scale test prints using various papers to follow……..

Show will open Saturday 20th October at 3pm in the ground floor of the School of Architecture on Copley Street, Cork.

Show - Sketchbook

Thank you so much to everyone who supported There, There on Fund:it. The great news is that it is now fully funded. If you haven't heard, There, There is a photographic event in Cork City curated by Stag & Deer launching on October 18th 2012. As part of the event I will be having a site responsive exhibition called Show at the architect's school.

Mine is a reflective practice. The work I am making is in response to the exhibition site, with the intention of communicating something of the experience of being in the space. My sketchbooks are an important part of my practice. They are like a mirror reflecting work as I explore different ideas. I will post some pages from my sketchbook here on the blog as the work progresses to share some of the things I have been trying out in the space. You can see the final work when Show opens on Saturday 20th October.

There, There will run from 18th of October 2012 at various venues across Cork City. Please visit the website for more details.

Show will open Saturday 20th October at 3pm in the ground floor of the architect's school on Copley St.

There, There

Today I'm delighted to announce that I will be creating a site responsive exhibition in Cork in October as part of There, There an international photographic event in Cork City curated by Stag and Deer.

There, There will bring together over 30 international, national and local lens based artists in 6 exhibitions across the city. The basic thematic framework of the event is otherness and possible reconnections and reinterpretations of the world we live in. Some of the other artists taking part include Vivianne Sassen (Netherlands), Miriam O'Connor & Zang Kechun (China) among many others.

There, There is a unique and exciting opportunity for photography in Cork City, however Stag & Deer need your help to make it happen. Cork City Council has provided some financial support but additional funding is needed. Please take a look at their Fund:it campaign video to learn more, give what you can and spread the word to help bring this fantastic event to Cork.

There, There - A Photographic Event Fund:it Campaign Video

There, There will run from 18th of October 2012 at various venues across Cork City. Please visit the website for more details.

Roseanne Lynch site responsive exhibition will open Saturday 20th October at 3pm at the Cork Centre for Architectural Education.

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.

Reflecting on the Guesthouse Residency

Installation at The Guesthouse
Photographed by Tony Compagno

The residency at The Guesthouse was a valuable opportunity to read and to play with another way of expressing my considerations rather than through a photographic print. Through reflective practice and dialogue I spent the time considering the art piece as the event, rather than as a documentation of the event. This is the installation that you see in the photos and what I presented at the Sunday lunch.

Experiencing the Installation
Photographed by Tony Compagno

The final image of the poetry book was a first edition of Poems by Anthony Cronin from 1957 which I found in the Guesthouse. I was very taken by the poem 'For a Father' in which he talks about how mannerisms come through in later generations. To me that is also relevant to how one piece of work leads to another, which leads to another, and the thought or concept that appears in a later piece is recognisable in some early form in the work that goes before it.

First Edition of Poems by Anthony Cronin
Photographed by Tony Compagno

I was also joined on the Residency by Pádraig Spillane - curator, photographer, philosopher and Vadagam maker extraordinaire. I want to thank Stephen McGlynn and all at The Guesthouse for the opportunity to do this residency. I am also delighted to say that a photograph that I made in Belfast during the Belfast Photo Festival has been accepted into the Rua Red Winter Show which will run from the 12th of November to the 10th December 2011.

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

The Guesthouse Encounter

I was invited to take part in a residency in The Guesthouse by Stephen McGlynn. The Guesthouse in Shandon, Cork is a visual artist- led initiative that creates a place for artists to meet, exchange ideas and produce work. They run a program of public events, residencies and activities. Stephen McGlynn is currently running a residency program called World's End. He sees the Guesthouse as a place where people who's lives intertwine, if only fleetingly, converge for a short respite. He has invited various different people & groups from his community to avail of this opportunity and use the space as they wish to co-ordinate an event, or present a work in progress, or engage with new areas of exploration.

My 10 day residency started on Sunday when myself and Padraig Spillane, the Stag part of the curatorial team Stag and Deer, unloaded two piles of books into the upstairs apartment, which has become the 'reading room'. I am spending this time exploring ideas around my understanding of the philosophy of phenomenology, and working on an installation using a 16"x12" camera.

Interestingly, the fire alarm became faulty and was going continually Monday and Tuesday, so I retreated to the apartment, the only place where I couldn't hear the siren, and spent the time reading, working on my sketchbook, drinking good coffee, listening to the Shandon bells and reading some more. I've mostly been reading the writings of Lee Ufan. I spent a beautiful afternoon at his show in the Guggenheim in New York this summer. I always find it interesting when an outside force dictates the course of an action like this, and I like a bit of serendipity. So be it. I love the reading. On Wednesday calm returned. I've also been enjoying the conversations I've been able to have with Padraig.


If you're in Cork this weekend I'd like to invite you to Encounter - Sunday lunch at 3pm this Sunday September 18th at the Guesthouse, 10 Chapel Street, Shandon. Its an informal opportunity for you to meet myself and Padraig, see the Guesthouse, experience the installation & meet others. All are welcome.

www.theguesthouse.ie

Document II - Sketchbook Pages

Sketchbook page - a document, a photograph

Sketchbook Page - the making of Document II

Sketchbook Page - test photographs

Sketchbook Page - looking at presentation

Here are a few of the pages from my sketchbook during the time I was making Document II. Its always interesting to look back and see how the work developed.

You can see Document II at Fort Camden, Crosshaven until the end of September. The fort is open to the public every Saturday & Sunday from 12pm - 5pm. You can check out the Fort Camden Official Info Facebook Page to find out whats on.

Installing Document II - Camden Fort, Crosshaven

Document II - Public Art Commission for Fort Camden, Crosshaven

“It sees itself seeing.” - Maurice Merleau Ponty

This work is made following an invitation from Cork County Council and Rescue Camden to make a piece of work in response to the site that is Fort Camden.

I used a large format camera to record light as it was held on a piece of building material used in the renovation of Fort Camden, at intervals over the course of a day in May 2011. The changes are minimal as the holder of this light becomes a silent witness to the passage of time. The photographs have been printed directly onto metal and installed on the wall of the fort.

I want to thank the guys who helped me install this last week. It was a very windy day to be up on scaffolding and they were extremely helpful, nothing was a problem for them.

Fort Camden is open to the public every Saturday & Sunday from 12pm - 5pm. You can check out the Fort Camden Official Info Facebook Page to find out whats on. Its well worth a visit & I'm not just saying that because there's some pretty fabulous art on the wall! Document II will be at the fort until the end of September.