Island Talk 5
23rd August 2023
Talk 1 - George Voronov
George Voronov splits his time between editorial and commercial commissions as well as his personal artistic practice.
He presented his project We Became Everything, which is concerned with photographing what a spiritual experience feels like as well as the young people who search for them.
“Spending time with young people in religious communities and on spiritual retreats, I found that everyone I photographed shared permutations of one core conviction. This was a belief in the existence of two worlds; the familiar 'real' world as well as an elusive spiritual dimension that lies beyond the boundaries of normal perception. The idea of photographing a link between these worlds, a nexus where the veil between them is thinnest, became a subject of fascination. These peak states of consciousness when one becomes aware of one world bleeding into the other are what we have come to know as religious experiences. These phenomena are defined by fleeting revelations, subtle rifts in reality, and a feeling of connection to the divine. In these instances, the banal gives way to the sublime. They are, in effect, metaphysical decisive moments.”
Talk 2 - Matthew Thompson
In 2015, Matthew collaborated with Broadstone Films to represent Ireland in the Architectural Biennale in Shenzhen, China. He has worked with a diverse range of esteemed clients, including Pentagram, Philips, Saatchi & Saatchi Pro, Adrain Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, RADA, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Red&Grey Design, Detail Design Studio, Bielke & Yang, Socio Design, Made Thought, Monocle, Wired (Japan), Condé Nast, Time-Warner, Cara, and EMI.
Matthew's personal work is focused on exploring how conditioning influences perception, and he has exhibited his work in New York, New Orleans, Paris, London, Shenzhen, Helsinki, Belfast, and Dublin. He holds a Masters of Fine Art Photography from the University of Ulster in Belfast and a Bachelor of Design Degree from The National College of Art & Design in Dublin.
Talk 3 - Mark McGuinness
Mark McGuinness works on selected commissions and long term personal projects.
Mark spoke about his recent project I Hope I’m Wrong.
As a small island nation, Ireland is especially susceptible to the negative environmental impact of climate change. With over 1.9 million people (40% of the Irish population) living within 5km of the coast, we are about to see a fundamental shift in the way our country functions due to climate change and rising sea levels.
Following a map which shows the areas of the Irish coast which are predicted to be severely affected by sea level rise by 2030, I Hope I’m Wrong is made up of images taken in these areas. This isn’t a ‘love letter’ to Irish coastal communities, an ‘investigation’, or a meditation’, it is a eulogy to the people, places, and ecology we are already losing, and will lose, due to climate change.
My previous work looked at the historical landscape of Ireland and how that was forever changed by colonial mapping, I was always looking back. Now I want to look forward, to try to create a record of the land that is disappearing. I feel compelled as an artist to address the issue of climate change and the affects it is having on Ireland. Coming from a coastal area which is expected to be heavily impacted by raising sea levels, I don’t see how I can make new work at a time like this without critically engaging with the fact that we are currently on an unsustainable path.
