New Irish Works: Cottages of Quigley’s Point
Jill Quigley

Cottages of Quigley’s Point makes use of photographed interventions in abandoned houses to question romantic readings of the rural Irish cottage. An exploration of the numerous ruined dwellings near Jill’s childhood home in Donegal, Ireland, the project is a means of investigating and re-imagining local heritage. Rather than viewing these houses as artefacts with nostalgic associations, their redundant nature allows the freedom for active engagement and the creation of a personal record of explorations made in Quigley’s locality. The addition of bright colours and movement of these empty interiors is intended to situate the subject matter in the present as encountered and to emphasise her presence in that time and place. As such, the process of intervention subverts a wistful reading of a disappearing way of life, and provides the opportunity to take a fresh and playful approach to familiar subject matter.

Jill Quigley was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1981. In 2014 she completed an MFA in Photography at the University of Ulster, having previously studied Art History at Trinity College Dublin. She has received a General Art Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, an Outstanding Student Award from the Royal Ulster Academy of the Arts and the student prize at ESPY Photography Awards in Wales. Recently she has participated in group exhibitions at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cork, Format Festival in Derby, Belfast Photo Festival and The Photographers’ Gallery in London, and has held solo exhibitions at Belfast Exposed and at Seen Fifteen in London. ¹

About The Series
Selected by an international panel of 23 professionals, New Irish Works brings you a selection of 20 projects and 20 photographers representing the diverse range of practices coming from Ireland. New Irish Works 2016 is a year-long project of 10 presentations and 20 publications that aims to highlight the great moment Irish Photography is experiencing.

About the Publisher 
Founded in 2009, PhotoIreland was conceived as an organization that would stimulate a dialogue around Photography in Ireland by developing a varied array of initiatives and events with a strong participative approach.