An Exhibition of New Art from Ireland
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, The Embassy of Ireland presents the “Ireland‘s Eye” exhibition in collaboration with ISA Art Gallery and Jakarta Land. This art exhibition features the work of five artists from the land of saints and scholars. The inspiring artworks are showcased for the public at World Trade Center 2 Jakarta from March 16th to April 7th, 2023.
The five Irish artists, Lucy Peters, Mandy O’Neill, Michelle Malone, Myfanwy Frost Jones, and Orla Comerford, explore critical questions of climate change, globalization, social inequality, and rapid technological change from the unique perspective of an island perched between the European and American continents.
The island of Ireland has made significant contributions to the worlds of knowledge, culture, and entertainment, providing a unique vantage point to shape an independent and creative vision.
In this exhibition, there are important questions around what constitutes our individual, communal, and national identities. What defines us? Is it the clothing we wear, manufactured on the other side of the world, or is it the equally globalized digital content we consume? Could it be our intimate family histories, which are intertwined with social histories, or is it found in our attitudes towards inward migration and the acceptance of new communities? Are we paying enough attention to the subtle changes in our environment that will impact our ability to produce food in an unpredictable world climate in the future?
The island of Ireland’s recent history has much in common with Indonesia’s journey to independence. In Ireland, the revolutionary poets helped to imagine the new nation into being, while in Indonesia, the visual artists envisioned a singular nation from the myriad colonial and archipelagic histories and cultures of Indonesia.
Today, the island nations of Ireland and Indonesia share a deep sense of cultural and artistic identity that is manifested in many forms, from music, crafts, storytelling, to filmmaking and urban arts.
Curated by Mark Joyce from IADT, Dublin. Mata Irlandia or ‘Ireland’s Eye’ is an exhibition exploring the idea of the visual arts as a critical ‘eye’ on an increasingly connected yet polarizing world.
Featured Artists
Lucy Peters (@lucky_lucy_peters) has a background in the fashion industry, and, like many people, she has become increasingly concerned with the vast volumes of mass-produced clothes that are consumed and casually thrown away.
Her exploration of overconsumption has encompassed research into the practices of fashion retailers, including those that are closing down, and also the strategies that have been developed by charities to manage huge warehouses full of discarded, and often worthless, fast fashion clothing. Making It Laaaast is a series of soft sculptures informed by research into production and consumption practices and the physical architecture of fashion retail display.
