Island Talk 14
28th August 2024
Talk 1 - Cathal McNaughton
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Cathal McNaughton discussed his latest collection of images entitled ‘Ukraine – Searching for the Normal’.
These powerful photographs offer a compelling perspective on the enduring political struggles in Ukraine. McNaughton’s lens has previously captured the world’s attention with his photographic chronicles of the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and with ‘Kashmir: Valley of Tears’, as previously showcased at Belfast Exposed. These bodies of work earned him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 2018.
‘Ukraine: Searching for the Normal’ exemplifies his unmatched skill and empathy as a visual storyteller, vividly narrating the tale of a nation grappling with the turmoil of war while striving to maintain an aspect of everyday life.
He dedicated two weeks to traversing Ukraine, meticulously documenting the profound impact of the war on its people. The haunting backdrop of daily funerals and the ceaseless wall of air raid sirens served as an eerie soundtrack to his time spent there. Through his lens, McNaughton uncovered a resilient populace, embroiled in the chaos of war, yet steadfastly committed to preserving a semblance of normalcy.
Talk 2 - Niall McCormack
Niall McCormack is a commercial artist based in Dublin, Ireland. He specialises in music packaging and book design.
A graduate of the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Niall has created numerous LP and CD covers for Ace Records as well as sleeves for Vampisoul, Tru Thoughts, Domino, WFMU, Demon Music Group, Planet Mu and Fire Records. His artwork graces book covers published by Vintage, Faber & Faber, Profile, The Lilliput Press, Gorse and Poetry Ireland.
He writes about Irish book cover design on his blog: Vintage Irish Book Covers and has curated exhibitions of book cover art including a retrospective of the work of Dutch designer Cor Klaasen and Green Sleeves: The Irish Printed Record Cover, 1955–2017, co-curated with Dr Ciarán Swan. He wrote the introduction to Vintage Values, a book of cover art from the Catholic Truth Society of Ireland archive spanning the 1920s to the 1960s.
Talk 3 - Naoise O’Keeffe
Naoise is a photo editor, mentor and lecturer based between the UK and Ireland. In 2018, she founded photography led political publication Hot Potato. She is currently a freelance photo editor at the Financial Times Weekend Magazine and lectures at Goldsmiths University London, Kingston University London and London College of Communications.
Naoise discussed her career, starting from when she founded Hot Potato when lots of doors opened, and she’ll touch on some interesting projects she's worked on since then.
