Artists: Conor Horgan*, Jialin Long, Shane Lynam*, Eimear Lynch, Fionn McCann*, Jan McCullough, Malcolm McGettigan*, Yvette Monahan*, Kate Nolan*, Clodagh O’Leary, Ciara Richardson, Daragh Soden, Brían Sparks*, Pádraig Spillane, Izabela Szczutkowska, Agata Stoinska*, Ruby Wallis [ * – Island Photographers ]
During September and October this year, the RHA will present ARCHIPELAGO, a major exhibition of Irish photography in its main gallery, featuring seventeen intergenerational artists, whose practice spans the myriad of subjects that concern lens-based culture in Ireland today. The form of photographic practice has expanded in recent times and the RHA invited artists to respond to the spatial magnitude of the largest gallery in Ireland, with many responding to the open spaces with in-the-round works to create something beyond the typical photo show. Pictured here is: the prosaic everyday made poetic; reflections on both psychic and human-altered landscapes; art documentary; constructed abstractions; observations on borders, invisible and hidden; meditations on sexuality and objectification; the interconnectedness of nature and reflections on Ireland losing its welcoming spirit. Throughout it all, a collage of Irish cultural identity—and our contemporary photographers’ place within it—is revealed.
This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the RHA’s exhibition department and the artist-led group Island Photographers, who foster engagement with and understanding of photography in Ireland, both in the fine art realm and the broader lens-based culture industry through talks, events and workshops. All eight members are participating in the show.
Images:
01. Yvette Monahan, Mother I from the series This Unending Story, 2019
02. Kate Nolan, from the series Lacuna, 2017
03. Conor Horgan, Camp 5 from the series EDGE, 2025
04. Brían Sparks, Back-Up from the series Baile I, 2024
05. Agata Stoinska, from the series Echoes of a Dream, 2024,
All images courtesy of the artists
#archipelagoshow
