Project Arts Centre presents, curated by Nora Heidorn
Nora Heidorn & Lynne Kouassi, Ketty La Rocca, David McGovern, Julie Morrissy, Harold Offeh
Curated by Nora Heidorn
The standard enlightenment representation of the human body is of a singular, upright, able-bodied man, gazing forward. This group exhibition pays caring attention to reclined bodies and to bodies inclined towards each other, favouring a model of the human as interdependent and reliant.
We encounter reclined bodies in different situations in our lives, in images, and stories: persons sleeping or resting, having sex, the unwell, injured or deceased. Common tropes include the reclined nude, the fallen soldier, the psychoanalysis patient, and the birthing woman. Being horizontal, and especially being looked at and imaged in positions of recline, is often associated with feminised and racialised powerlessness. Deliberately assuming a horizontal position in front of others can also challenge, subvert, and politicise dynamics of vulnerability and power.
This exhibition explores what moving out of the vertical plane and into varying degrees of inclination might indicate about being in relation, about interdependency and care. For example, how might the simple but charged acts of lounging, reclining, or leaning be reimagined as critiques of the neoliberal drives for efficiency, productivity, speed, and independence?
Click here to read Morrissy’s Come In, Lie Down, a prose piece written in response to this exhibition’s themes of rest and resistance.
3 Feb-18 Mar
11am – 5pm, closed Sundays
Please note: The exhibition will close at the earlier time of 2pm on Saturday 11th March for Áine O’Hara’s public programme event, Nap Club.
Socially Distanced Opening Hours
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday | 10am – 11am
Join us for a socially distanced viewing of the exhibition, visitor numbers will be limited. Visitors during this time are required to wear a face mask and there will be one member of staff present wearing a mask. Please e-mail box-office@projectartscentre.ie before 5:30pm the previous day to book your place. Thank you.
Public Programme Events
Artist Talk – Harold Offeh
17 Feb | 18:30 | 90mins | Free, Ticketed
Strike a Pose – Harold Offeh Performance Workshop
18 Feb | 10:30 | 180mins | €10, Refreshments Provided
Nap Club by Áine O’Hara
11 March | 2:30-5:30pm | Free, Ticketed (This event is fully booked)
Opening 2 February
6pm – 8pm, performances at 7pm
Reading by Julie Morrissy
Performance by David McGovern
Opening reception kindly sponsored by Febvre Wines.
Accessibility
If you require assistance for your visit, please do not hesitate to contact us at access@projectartscentre.ie or call 01 8819 613 . You can find the latest information about Project’s accessibility here.
Socially Distanced Opening Hours
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday | 10am – 11am
Join us for a socially distanced viewing of the exhibition, visitor numbers will be limited. Visitors during this time are required to wear a face mask and there will be one member of staff present wearing a mask. Please e-mail box-office@projectartscentre.ie before 5:30pm the previous day to book your place. Thank you.
Credits
Kunstkredit, Switzerland
Biographies
Nora Heidorn makes exhibitions, public programmes, creative projects, and publishes her writing. Her practice is led by interdisciplinary research investigating sexual reproduction, health, and care through an intersectional lens. Currently, she’s working on an LAHP-funded PhD at the Royal College of Art in collaboration with Birth Rites Collection.
Lynne Kouassi (*1991) is currently based in Basel, Switzerland. She holds an MFA from Golsmiths University of London and a BA in Fine Art from the University of the Arts Zurich (ZHdK). Recent exhibitions include: Kunsthaus Langenthal, AC-Stipendium (2022); E-Werk Freiburg, Songs from the End of the World (2021); FHNW Mastersymposium, Womxn in Motion (2020); Helmhaus Zürich, of color (2019).
Ketty La Rocca (La Spezia, 1938 – Florence 1976) made collages, sculptures, performances, drawings, and photographic work. Her work is held museum collections including MAXXI, Rome, Novecento Museum, Florence, Gallerie d’Italia, Milan, the National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome, the Uffizi, Florence, MoMA, New York and Centre Pompidou, Paris. Her works have been included in major group exhibitions including Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution, MOCA, Los Angeles (2007), Donna: avanguardia femminista negli anni ’70, National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome (2010), and She-Bam Pow POP Wizz! Les Amazones du POP, MAMAC, Nice (2020).
David McGovern is a multidisciplinary socially-engaged artist. He works with moving image, audio, performance and text to create space for self-enquiry, reflection and speculation. He is currently developing new work entitled HARDCARE, a participatory artwork exploring unconventional care experiences. David received the Arts Council’s Next Generation Artist Award in 2022. www.davidmcgovern.net
Julie Morrissy was the first Poet-in-Residence at the National Library of Ireland in 2021-22. She is a recipient of the MAKE Theatre Award, and the Arts Council ‘Next Generation’ Award. Her work has been exhibited in the TULCA Festival of Visual Arts and acquired for the OPW State Art Collection. www.juliemorrissy.com
Harold Offeh is an artist working in a range of media including performance, video, photography, learning and social arts practice. Offeh is interested in the space created by the inhabiting or embodying of histories. He is currently a Tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art, London.
Funding
Funded by Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt Switzerland.
Project Arts Centre is proudly supported by The Arts Council and Dublin City Council.