JOY #5: A (sort of) retrospective exhibition Deirdre O'Mahony consisting of an interview, found objects, artworks' traces, ephemera, sounds

works by Deirdre O’Mahony

curated by Sebastian Cichocki

Opening
April 9, 18.00 – 21.00
 

The exhibition features traces of durational, open-ended and site-sensitive projects by the Irish artist Deirdre O’Mahony. There are hardly any artworks in the space. Instead, there are ‘gleanings’ from the archive: the sedimentation of artistic processes in the form of objects, sounds, unfinished works, raw materials, vegetables, correspondence and maps.

We have been referring to the practice of gleaning, a term that traditionally alludes to the act of collecting surplus crops following a harvest and redistributing them to people in need. This practice was common from biblical times until the 18th century. However, it was declared illegal by the British courts in 1788, who decreed that ‘no person has, at common law, a right to glean in the harvest field’. Nevertheless, it remained an essential survival strategy for those marginalised by the emerging forces of capitalism: widows, orphans, the poor, the expropriated, new- comers and exiles.

This time, we are gleaning from the archive to show the evidence of processes that go beyond the conven- tions of art-making. Ultimately, what constitutes an exhibition? What should be preserved? How can you be truthful to yourself and to stories from tormented lands?

The exhibition also serves as a visual footnote to the text ‘Land Art as Useful Art: Sebastian Cichocki in Conversation with Deirdre O’Mahony’, which has been published concurrently by L’Internationale Online. The conversation, presented as part of the exhibition, in the form of a newspaper, provides a broader context for the collection of objects and sounds in the space.

Deirdre O’Mahony: “Over the past twenty years there has been a shift towards more radical, messy, com- plex, process-based artworks that highlight the im- pact of current policies on landscapes and land use. This includes the sale of natural assets like seaweed, gas reserves, and the extraction of rare minerals by global consortiums. (...) I see the artists all over Ireland using aesthetic processes that perform like a canary in a mine; calling out the grand schemes and enterprises that will undermine and destroy fragile ecosystems for short term gain.”

- Sebastian Cichocki