Oonagh Young Gallery, 2022 — Sorcha McNamara

Installation at Oonagh Young Gallery, Dublin, 2022 | photography by Louis Haugh

[detail] Collapser (undone), 2021/22, oil, pencil, chalk, reclaimed wood, found wood, wire, metal, dust, found ceramic tiles, dimensions variable | photography by Louis Haugh

Leg-up/Minty, 2021, oil, perspex, laminate and wood, 19 x 17 x 1.5cm | photography by Louis Haugh

Clutching at Straws, 2021, acrylic, reclaimed plywood, balsa wood, cardboard, 24 x 22cm | photography by Louis Haugh

Cherubs in Shelter, 2020-21, oil, gesso, ink, chalk and pencil pn net curtain with oil and dust on found perspex panels, dimensions variable | photography by Louis Haugh

Installation at Oonagh Young Gallery, Dublin, 2022

[detail] Cherubs in Shelter, 2020-21 | photography by Louis Haugh

[detail] Collapser (undone), 2021/22, oil, pencil, chalk, reclaimed wood, found wood, wire, metal, dust, found ceramic tiles, dimensions variable

Clavicle, 2021, oil on reclaimed wood, 18 x 19.5cm

Strip Tease, 2021, oil and pencil on reclaimed wood, 25 x 26 x 3cm

text by Silvia Koistinen, 2022

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collapsing - the sound of the word in your mouth -

on the brink

in transition

between the space of something becoming nothing

from it is to it isn't

falling apart

falling a part

all things have the potential to fall apart

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dispersed

grooves

scratched and

dust-settled paint

a landmass

Bleeding beyond frames

bloated surface

pockets of breath

the raw warmth of wood

touching

untouching

overlapping

supporting

a familial cluster

coming to rest together

how much is made

how much is found

paint

like soap stains

perfumed colours

stained by touch

internal organs

smooth porcelain

cold tiles

soft wood

letting it fold and buckle in on itself

like unbuttoning the top of your jeans to let your stomach expand, extend, breathe

you extract their souls, making them visible

giving them a voice

this strange language

they speak

eaten

bitten wood

ledges where things should sit but don't

a frame unframing

finger painting

unhinged hinges

tenuous holding

reaching

clutching

a track

they are meant to fit

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(Readymade #2)

Sorcha McNamara

13 - 21 May 2022

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This exhibition comprises new paintings, sculptures and assemblages that are apparently improvised, yet strictly informed by formal aesthetic qualities such as composition, colour and scale. Shown in Ireland for the first time, these works were made in 2021 between Mayo, where the artist is from, and Barcelona, where she completed a residency at Tangent Projects.

The artist focuses her attention on the unnoticed, marginal and disregarded detritus of life and assembles work in accordance with her desire for coalescence. McNamara considers these works to be inherently ambiguous, occupying a state of potentiality by appearing unfinished. Her primary intention lies in creating connections through the playful construction and placement of these disparate elements in any particular space.

text: Oonagh Young

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The READYMADE series aimed to support artists who have generated new works over recent years that have not been exhibited in a gallery until now. The series consisted of four solo exhibitions by artists who have gained new perspectives on their practice or who have never had a solo exhibition.

The READYMADE series was funded by Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award.

Black Holes, 2022

field notes [Joya] 2022