Artist talk at St. Mary’s Secondary School

What a fantastic day!

Anne Marie Forbes, the Community Development Officer from the Jackie Clarke Collection, and I were invited to talk to the transition year students at St. Mary’s Secondary School Ballina.

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Artist talk with transition year students at St. Mary’s Secondary School Ballina.

Firstly Anne Marie spoke about the Jackie Clarke Collection, then I gave an artist talk, followed by the both of us discussing my 1916 artist residency and working with the community. The students at St. Mary’s were great, they were very enthusiastic about taking part in the community art work.

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Artist talk with transition year students at St. Mary’s Secondary School Ballina.
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Artist talk with transition year students at St. Mary’s Secondary School Ballina.

 

A big thank you to Renee Cronin and the transition year students from St. Mary’s Secondary School Ballina

 

Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place

Last weekend I went to see the Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place exhibition at the MAC Belfast.

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I was so excited to get to see this exhibition. I had studied Gonzalez – Torres work during my time in college, and went on to write about it for my thesis. It was great to see so much of his work in person.

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Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place, The MAC Belfast
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Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place, The MAC Belfast
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Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place, The MAC Belfast
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Felix Gonzalez – Torres: This Place, The MAC Belfast

Felix Gonzalez – Torres (1957 – 1996) is one of my favourite artists. I first saw his work at the Art Institute of Chicago, ‘Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA)’. It had such an affect on me. I really enjoyed studying his work in college. Both Gonzalez – Torres (1957 – 1996) and his partner Ross Laycock (1959 – 1991) died from AIDS related illnesses in the nineties. His work was a responsive reflection on his experiences of living with AIDS, using found materials such as packaged hard candy, billboards, clocks, strings of light bulbs, and stacks of paper.

For a link to the MAC Belfast click here.