Summer Preview with Deirdre O'Mahony

Kunstverein Aughrim is delighted to present our Summer Preview with Deirdre O’Mahony.

Taking place on Sunday 11 June, from 11am–3pm, the event consists of a talk (Deirdre O’Mahony in conversation with Kate Strain), a walk (a guided foraging trail with local forager Geraldine Kavanagh), a picnic (by artist and cook Brenda Kearney following a week-long studio/kitchen residency in Aughrim), and a live rehearsal of The Song of the Farmer and the Dung Beetle (featuring the voice and sounds of Siobhán Kavanagh and Michelle Doyle).

Deirdre O'Mahony is an artist who works urgently to give voice to the invisible protagonists that shape our earth's future. From casting a series of root systems into porcelain tableware, to enacting an adaptation of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier's 18th century potato feast, O'Mahony is committed to uncovering and encouraging conversations about rural sustainability, food security, political ecologies and the future of farming.

The activities of our preview event have been devised to share insight into O’Mahony’s working process as an artist, by offering a glimpse into a major new body of work currently in development. A limited number of tickets are available to purchase at a cost of €10 (ticket without bus) or €20 (ticket with bus).

Schedule

11am: Artist Talk at Kunstverein Aughrim

12pm: Foraging Walk up Jim’s Way

1pm: Picnic at the Pavilion

2pm: Live Rehearsal at the Bandstand

Getting to Aughrim

A chartered bus departing from Dublin City Centre (Merrion Square North) at 9:30am on Sunday 11 June will bring ticket-holders to Aughrim, and have them back in Dublin for around 5:30pm that evening. If you wish to avail of this service please purchase a €20 ticket with BUS.

Anyone travelling by car can avail of on street parking around the town centre. Anyone availing of public transport from Arklow or Carlow is advised to check the local link Sunday service timetable.

For further information on access, transport links or other queries please contact us

Artist biographies

Deirdre O’Mahony is a visual artist whose practice is informed by a deep interest in rural sustainability, farming, food security and rural/urban relationships. For more than three decades she has investigated the political ecology of rural places through public engagement, archival and moving image installation, critical writing and cultural production. O’Mahony works urgently to give voice to the invisible protagonists that shape our earth's future. From casting a series of root systems into porcelain tableware, to enacting an adaptation of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier's 18th century potato feast, O'Mahony is committed to uncovering and encouraging conversations about rural sustainability, food security, political ecologies and the future of farming. O'Mahony's exhibition EAT FOOD POLICY is currently on view at Kunstverein Aughrim throughout Spring/Summer 2023.

Michelle Doyle is a visual artist and musician from Wicklow, who creates work exploring culture, space and politics. For the last ten years, Doyle has worked across art, design, writing, and music. This sculptural practice includes pirate radio, performance, digital reproduction and video compositing. Doyle's work is experienced in institutional and extra-institutional spaces and questions the power dynamics found within them. Doyle's recent research centres on music communities that self-build and operate rehearsal practice spaces. Doyle is also a musician and sound artist, making work under the moniker, Rising Damp. In 2022, she developed this project into a live band with drummer Sarah Grimes and synth musician Ivan Pawle. They have played TBG+S, Electric Picnic and Feile na Greine. She plays solo under this title, in shows often improvised in nature. She also plays in bands Dreamgirls, The Healers, Bodycam and Sissy.

Siobhán Kavanagh is a multi-disciplinary vocal artist and singer working with voice, composition, songwriting, and experimental performance.  As a collaborative artist working across disciplines- Siobhán has been commissioned by visual artists, filmmakers, composers, musicians, and dancers to feature on their projects as a performer and composer. Siobhán has an eclectic musical background; performing original music with bands such as - Doom Opera, Lotus-Eater, experimental cabaret with Sisters Hyde and the Pesky Magpies and The Underworld Orchestra. As a solo artist – Siobhán creates immersive music performances that combine experimental soundscapes, vocalisations, song and visual storytelling.

Geraldine Kavanagh is a Wicklow-based experienced foraging enthusiast with Wicklow Wild Foods, running seasonal foraging walks and workshops. She also works with the award-winning Glendalough Distillery as Ireland's only full-time botanical forager. In her unique role she sources wild herbs and natural ingredients from all over county Wicklow to make their gin.

Brenda Kearney is a Leitrim-based multidisciplinary artist whose work centres around domestic practices, ideas of community and collaborative care. Drawing on experiences as a cook, fishmongre, student of anthropology and ongoing ceramic work, she creates projects that prompt conversation, collaborative curiosity and exchanges of ideas. Brenda is a founding member of Fairland Collective, a socially-engaged art collective based between Ireland, the UK and France.

Kunstverein Aughrim is a curatorial production office established by Kate Strain in 2022. Located on the ground floor of a townhouse in Aughrim, County Wicklow, it is part of an international network established by Kunstverein in Amsterdam, with sisters in Milan, New York and Toronto. Kunstverein Aughrim develops ongoing curatorial collaborations with artists to support the artistic process of creating new work, and to bring audiences as close to the creative process as possible. For more information visit www.kunstverein.ie

Summer Preview with Deirdre O'Mahony is produced by Kunstverein Aughrim, supported by the Arts Council. The event features a live rehearsal of The Song of the Farmer and the Dung Beetle commissioned by the School of Looking as part of Deirdre O’Mahony’s contribution to the Eco Showboat tour, July 2023.