As the saying goes… mice will dance, plates will be wiped with a cat’s tail, and people will eat goosegrass. Combining the natural, the unnatural, and the supernatural; the inherent weirdness of Irish seanfhocail is often overlooked. Humans interact with animals, animals interact with each other, and plants become entangled with humans.
The screenprints, drawings, and sculptures in this exhibition are part of a body of work created by Emily Mc Gardle over the past three years. This work reflects the strong visual imagery present in seanfhocail while highlighting the connection between people, nature, and the Irish language. “I was struck by the humour, surrealism, and absurdism as well as references to the body, and human interactions found in seanfhocail which are themes and elements I often feature in my work”.
The silicone sculptures in this exhibition were created in Fire Station Artists’ Studios, Dublin where Emily was awarded a Sculpture Practice Award earlier this year. Over a three-month period she worked on taking moulds of seeds, stems, and leaves of various plants. There is an uncanniness to silicone casts masquerading as plants. There is also a certain futility in trying to recreate an organic object while having to accept the limitations of the mould making and casting processes.
Emily Mc Gardle is a printmaker from County Monaghan. She graduated from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2016 with a First-Class Honours degree in Fine Art, and received an MA in Print from the Royal College of Art, London in 2020. She is a member of Black Church Print Studio, Dublin. Emily was shortlisted for the 2022 Zurich Portrait Prize, the 2023 and 2024 Trinity Buoy Wharf Working Drawing Award, and the 2024 Derwent Art Prize.
