Art

The best visual art shows this week

Explore Irish diaspora connections in the Caribbean and nag’s latest work in Dublin

nagOffsite at Rathfarnham Castle. Photograph: Kristina Huxley

Aidan Dunne's face
Aidan Dunne
Sat Jul 6 2019 - 05:00

The Ocean Between – Marianne Keating

Crawford Art Gallery, Emmet Place, Cork, until September 22nd
crawfordartgallery.ie
Keating's multimedia, multiscreen installation stems from research into "the complex hidden histories of the Irish diaspora in the Caribbean". Specifically, she has used documentation of the arrival of Irish indentured labour there during a relatively brief period in the 19th century – circa 1835-1842 – and the local legacies of these labourers, while also elucidating the role of "poor whites" into existing accounts of the dominated colonial "other".

nagOffsite – Rathfarnham Castle

Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, until August 25th
nagallery.ie
Offsite, the latest project from nag, is a return to Rathfarnham Castle, an exceptionally atmospheric historic venue. With work by Kristina Huxley, Helena Gorey, Roseanne Lynch and Jane Proctor. In addition, selected works from the personal collection of John Hutchinson, who was for many years director of the Douglas Hyde Gallery, will be included. As ever, Mark St John Ellis (who began his career as a technician in the Douglas Hyde) is the curator.

Command Lines – Candida Powell-Williams

Void Gallery, Patrick St, Derry, until August 24th
derryvoid.com
A carnivalesque installation, incorporating sculpture, animation and performance. The aim is to re-imagine the mystical-magical iconography of the tarot card pack in a dynamic interactive form, stripped of its human imagery and inviting the viewer to fulfill that role. Powell-Williams developed the work during a residency at The Warburg Institute.

Exploring Ballinglen – Joe Wilson

The Ballinglen Gallery, Main St, Ballycastle, Co Mayo, until July 31st
ballinglenartsfoundation.org
Joe Wilson's landscapes invariably reflect his immediate exploration of the locations they feature. He is most at home in the midst of the landscape, following the spine of a mountain ridge or pausing to catch a glimpse of distant vistas. And his work is all about the immediacy of those moments and sensations. The North Mayo coastal terrain around Ballycastle seems made for him.

READ MORE

Re-Imagine

Luan Gallery, Athlone, Co Westmeath,until August 10th
athloneartsandtourism.ie/luan-gallery
Luan's summer exhibition includes lens-based work by three artists, Martina Cleary (Ritual Dream of the Shaman), Jo Kimmins (large scale photographs) and Breda Burns (Counterflow). Through installation, video projection, photographs on vinyl and other means, the artists variously explore "ritualistic neo-pagan beliefs, the movement of the ocean, the decomposition of a decaying whale and the surprising beauty that can be seen in unexpected places".