The Lie of the Land
Various Artists

An exhibition publication, The Lie of the Land , co-curated with Ute Eskidsen of the Folkwang Museum, Essen, presents the work of John Duncan, Anthony Haughey, Padraig Murphy, Mick O’Kelly, Paul Seawright and Victor Sloan. Each artist carries the diverse cultural baggage of their Irish inheritance, yet images in this publication and exhibition may not strike you as they are from conventional visual conceptions of Irishness. ¹

Mick O’Kelly (b. 1954, Dublin) studied at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin; the California Institute of the Arts, USA; and University of Ulster Northern Ireland. Solo exhibitions of his work have taken place at Temple Bar Galleries + Studios, Dublin (2005); Letterkenny Arts Centre (2001); Orchard Gallery, Derry (1999); Gallery of Photography, Dublin (1992); and Grapevine Arts Centre, Dublin (1984). He has taken part in the major group shows eva International, Limerick (1990); RHA Annual, Dublin (1991) and Irish Exhibition of living Art (1985). ²

Mick O’Kelly (b. 1954, Dublin) studied at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin; the California Institute of the Arts, USA; and University of Ulster Northern Ireland. Solo exhibitions of his work have taken place at Temple Bar Galleries + Studios, Dublin (2005); Letterkenny Arts Centre (2001); Orchard Gallery, Derry (1999); Gallery of Photography, Dublin (1992); and Grapevine Arts Centre, Dublin (1984). He has taken part in the major group shows eva International, Limerick (1990); RHA Annual, Dublin (1991) and Irish Exhibition of living Art (1985). ³

John Duncan (b. 1968, Belfast) is a photographer based in Belfast. He studied Documentary Photography in Newport and Fine Art Photography in Glasgow. John Duncan’s practice stems from a sustained engagement with his home city of Belfast, examining and reflecting on its evolving state. Bonfires, a series of photographs produced between 2003 and 2005, documents a long-standing tradition of bonfire building by Protestant communities in Belfast.

Pádraig Murphy is a 1994 photography graduate from University of Wales, Newport, Photography. He is a photography tutor at St. John’s College, Cork, he has received numerous awards and has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally. In 1999 he was commissioned to take photographs as part of the National Lottery Pilot Programme for the Production of New Work. ⁴

Anthony Haughey lives and works in Ireland. He is an artist and lecturer/researcher in the School of Media at the Dublin Institute of Technology. ⁵

Victor Sloan is one of Ireland’s major visual artists. He was born in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone in Northern Ireland. He lives and works in Portadown, Co. Armagh. He studied at Belfast and Leeds Colleges of Art. ⁶

Paul Seawright is Professor of Photography and Executive Dean of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Ulster. His photographic work is held in many museum collections including The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Tate, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, International Centre of Photography New York, Arts Councils of Ireland, England and N.Ireland, UK Government Collection and the Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. ⁷