The Big Sky And The Palm House

Oliver Sears Gallery, 29 Molesworth St, Dublin Until Jul 27 oliversearsgallery.com

Oliver Sears Gallery, 29 Molesworth St, Dublin Until Jul 27 oliversearsgallery.com

Amelia Stein is well known for her photographic work, ranging from documentation of theatrical productions to highly personal projects involving memory and family histories. She works usually in rich, even sumptuously tonal black-and-white, and the two strands that make up her new exhibition are no exception.

It’s a case of compare and contrast as Stein explores the vast expanses of the north Mayo landscape (above) and the enclosed, hothouse environment of the restored Palm House in the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin.

In both cases we see that “nature” is profoundly shaped by and in turn shapes human life and enterprise. The isolated buildings in the Mayo landscape are abandoned dwellings, weathered and worn, used now as animal shelters or storehouses. Meanwhile an exotic flora flourishes in the artificial world of the glass house.

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Aidan Dunne

Aidan Dunne

Aidan Dunne is a visual arts critic and contributor to The Irish Times