CAG.3193 Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Intrusion III, 2022, tapestry (cotton, wool), 235 x 250 cm. Purchased, 2022. © the artist.

WORK OF THE WEEK!

Intrusion III (2022) by Ailbhe Ní Bhriain is one of our most recent acquisitions.

Translated to Jacquard (a fabric made on a loom) from loose digital collage, this artwork is rooted in an exploration of imperial legacy, human displacement, and the Anthropocene. These intertwined subjects are approached through an associative use of narrative and a painstakingly crafted visual language that verges on the surreal.

This textile work is from a sequence of three large-scale Jacquard tapestries which conjure a sense of theatrical disorientation. The imagery depicts scenes of architectural ruination; excavated Irish landscapes converge with remnants of damaged cityscapes to form vertiginous amalgams, which are populated by a cast of extinct or endangered animals.

Photo Darragh Kane

Ailbhe Ní Bhriain (b.1978) is an Irish artist whose practice incorporates film, computer generated imagery, collage, tapestry, print, and installation. Her work exposes the layers of ambiguity and contradiction embedded in fraught, yet urgent issues. The resulting worlds she creates are at once idiosyncratic, irresistible, and deeply unsettling.

Intrusion III (2022) by Ailbhe Ní Bhriain is featured in FOLLOWING THREADS until 28 January.

The Arts House: Conor Tallon chats with curator Michael Waldron about a work from the Collection every Sunday morning on Cork’s 96FM and C103 Cork. You can listen back to this week’s chat here:

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