Stories from Lismore and Beyond

ARTISTS AND PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED:

Deirdre Archbold, Dervla Baker, Karen Barrett, Lee Behegan, Ella Bertilsson, Rebecca Bradley, Stephen Brandes, Catherine Brennan, Ann Burns, Susan Buttner, Catherine Callanhan, Martha Cashman, Clashmore Chairs, Carol-Anne Connolly, Helen Courtney, Jim Cosgrove, Cronan Creagh, Fanny Currey, FE Currey, Guy Dalton, Vicki Davis, Carole Dolan-Weed, Paul Donovan, Ursula Ducey, David Eager Maher, Mary England, Paul Finnegan, Nancy Fitzpatrick, Caroline and Kate Fletcher O’Connor, Laura Flood, Angelina Foster, Lucian Freud, Breda Geoghegan, Oliver Godow, John Graham, Elaine Grainger, Jennifer Grey, Julie Guinee, Austin Hearne, Karen Hegarty, Veronica Henley, Caroline Hennessy, Michele Hetherington, Michele Horrigan, Linda Ibbotson, Myra Jago, Kathleen Johnston, Juno Projects, Fiona Kelly, Arno Kramer, Valerie Lee, Ciara Patricia Langan, Valerie Lee, Cristin Mann, Mariele Martin, Anne Martin Walsh, Peggyann McCann, Sinead McCormick, Mary McGrath, Jacqui McLay, Dennis McNulty, Helen McNulty, Marita Moore, Heather & Ivan Morrison, David Nash, Peter Nash, Noirin Nealon Lennox, Katie Nolan, Brid Nowlan, Rachel O’Hara, Simon O'Hara, Anne O’Loughlin, Deirdre O'Mahony, Monica O’Meara, Debi Paul, Boyer Phelan, Alison Pilkinton, June Pryce, The Quiet Club, Philip Quinn, Jim Ricks, Ciara Roche, Edward Roche, Gail Russell, Edaein Samuels, Angie Shanahan, Tim Shanhan, Lieneke Smyth, Emma Tennant, Clea van der Grijn, Aram Wahhoud, Waiting Space, Louise Wallace, Anne Walsh, Elka Weisser, John Whelan, Irene White, Louis Zoller

Stories from Lismore and Beyond documented an extraordinary moment in society. As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, people were living in lockdown for several months, with many seeing their lives transformed beyond recognition and a shared moment for contemplation unimaginable only a few months previously.

Lismore Castle Arts extended an open call for entries in June 2020 inviting artists and the public to submit images of their new normal - from a new routine, a hobby, or a new way of working. The images displayed were a document of this new existence – with an attempt to display as many images submitted as possible.

The exhibition had 3 distinct strands – invited submissions of images of daily life, mostly submitted through social media; invited responses from Irish artists who have previously had a connection with LCA; and artworks from the Lismore Castle collection, which resonated with the time.

This pairing of new images alongside historic work suggested that artists have always closely investigated our relationship with the simple, the routine, the everyday, and of the opportunity this shared moment now seems to offer. The exhibition hinted at an optimism, at the opportunity to re-evaluate our routines and priorities.

Some of the images and works in the exhibition include: -

Over 120 images submitted through social media – from artists and the general public. Some of these images range from simple walks, making jam, bread, knitting, to documents of making artwork, studio life, and more contemplative moments.

Ephemeral material presented in display cases – The Skellig Lists – a poem from 1947 of scurrilous verses written in local parishes and passed hand to hand, this edition features Lismore; fishing hooks collected by a local diver off the coast by An Rinn; postcards sent between families who were unable to visit each other during the lockdown; poetry by Lismore-based writers. The exhibition also featured sound works by The Quiet Club, made during the lockdown, and many more works by LCA alumni artists.

Artworks from the LCA collection including Louise Wallace’s Rock Stars, documenting the life of two men living off the grid in the Burren; Carol-Anne Connolly’s Pattern Landscape, made from an image of ferns in Lismore Castle; Ciara Roche’s series of paintings capturing different times of the day and night at Lismore Castle Gardens.