In extremis

A group exhibition with:
Tadhg O’Cuirín, Anne O' Byrne (Artspace Studios Galway), Tim Acheson, Brid Egan, Jennifer Cunningham (RHA Residency Dublin) and Mitch Conlon. Curated by Tim Acheson.
The Niland Gallery, Galway

23 – 24th September 2011

Opening reception: Culture Night, Friday 23rd September 2011, 6-8pm.

The theme for the show 'In Extremis' is a Latin phrase meaning "in the farthest reaches" or "at the point of death", the phrase can also describe a situation calling for extreme or direct measures. Artist and curator Tim Acheson set out to explore this theme and its contemporary connection to Ireland and Galway by selecting artists from Engage Art Studios, Artspace Studios and The Royal Hibernian Academy Residency Program. The result is a fascinating and diverse range of works, including a two channel video installation, sculptural works, painting and photography.

Galway Culture Night aims to showcase Galway’s rich cultural fabric and make the Arts accessible to absolutely everyone. In Extremis was conceived especially to take part in these events and will only be on for 2 days.
The Niland Gallery is an Engage Art Studios project transforming a disused slack space on lower Merchants road into a a gallery. It is made possible by the generous support of the Niland family and the Arts Council. The Niland Gallery is open Friday and Saturday from 12 until 5pm or by appointment and is located on Merchants Road, Galway.

Images of work

Above: Anne o Byne, Jennifer Cunningham

Above: Taigh O Currin, Timothy Acheson

The new gallery space provides a much needed venue for Galway’s burgeoning youthful visual arts community. The Niland Gallery is a non-commercial space that promotes innovative contemporary artworks and events. It is administered by Engage and is be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 12-5pm or by appointment

Future exhibitions include projects by Engage Studio Members, a curatorial project by Mary Conlon, Vis-á-vis with Monster Truck Studios during the Galway Arts Festival, Charlotte Bosanquet and upcoming curated projects by Mark Cullen and Tulca 2011 curated by Megs Morley. For more information contact them directly at thenilandgallery(at)gmail.com,

Opening Night Images

Artist Statements

Jennifer Cunningham


Title: Factory
Medium: HD video
Duration: 5 mins approx

Statement
The Irish seaweed industry had three phases:
Phase 1: 1700 to 1820 - the alkali period
Phase 2: 1820 to 1940 - the iodine period
Phase 3: 1940 to today - the alginate period

Factory was shot on Inishlacken, a depopulated island and Atlantic Alginates, an abandoned seaweed proceesing plant. It explores liminal space, setting up an uncanny composition that alternates between feeling familar and unfamilar, past and present day.
The piece itself is a 2 channel video piece depicting a girl harvesting seaweed and the abandoned machines for processing seaweed to obtain iodine and gelatin

Many Irish people do not know that 200 years ago, in the 1700s and into the 1800s, tens of thousands of people were employed in harvesting and processing seaweed in Ireland, along the western and northern seaboards. This was an early 'green' and sustainable industry, as every year tens of thousands of tons of seaweed were and still are thrown up on Irish shores. Most of this abundant natural harvest is now wasted and although the seaweed industry in Ireland is not dead, it is literally in extremis.

Mitch Conlon
Title Crime Reduction Unit Cork

Statement

In January 2011 due to increasing crime problems and rising social upheaval in Camden Quay, Cork, Basement Project Space hired renowned feng-shui specialist Mitch Conlon. With years of experience setting up the National Crime Reduction Programme which deals with similar issues across urban areas in Ireland, Conlon set up the first Crime Reduction Unit in Cork. Bringing together concerned members of the local community in a series of workshops these eight women were trained by Conlon to tackle crime using a proven combination of flower-arranging and feng shui breathing exercises. This unit is specifically trained in the promotion of crime prevention and reduction and the development of policies and strategies. The unit have being slowly and successfully working their way through the Camden Quay area reducing crime.

Brid Egan
Title: Extremis 1 / Extremis 2
Medium: mixed media and Oil on Canvas

Statement

In this body of work, the poignant solitary figure of a person, standing alone in a haunting and mysterious environment, is subjected to the compelling scrutiny of the viewer, whose task it is to determine the underlying cause and extent of her anguish. The fact that she is featureless presents a further challenge to the viewer.
The limited palette used by the artist, results in a minimalism, which testifies to the maxim that “less is more”. This lack of detail results in a monotony that symbolizes quiet though passionate introspection. The soft pastel colors may, at first glance, appear to lend an air of serenity to the work. Further investigation however, reveals a more sinister and veiled effect that challenges the viewer to unravel the complexity of meaning, underlying the subtle layering of the paint.
This work, which portrays a lone figure in a barren unrelenting landscape, is the embodiment of isolation, misery and human desolation, a universal theme with which we can all identify.