Visual Art: Theresa Nanigian: master of my universe at Limerick City Gallery of Art
2 Nov 2017 - 21 Jan 2018 (Past)
just a bit extraordinary is a national tour of three distinct exhibitions by artist Theresa Nanigian who creates portraits of contemporary Western life. In her work Nanigian also uses the analytical tools of other disciplines such as sociology, economics, psychology and logic to explore expressions of identity across the human experience.
The tour began on 7th April 2017 at The LAB Gallery, Dublin with trying to behave, an exhibition of photographs and a short video that observe the older patrons of the bi-monthly tea dances at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and the Macushla Dance Club in Dublin. Nanigian also displays wall text panels with anonymous responses selected from surveys she carried out with an even wider spectrum of older people.
This is now followed by master of my universe, which considers the middle developmental stage of adulthood often preoccupied with earning a living. Unusually Nanigian chooses to explore this stage by documenting the vendors on the boardwalk of Venice Beach, California. The guardians of this ‘sidewalk circus’ are a diverse range of nationalities, ages, socioeconomic status and personal histories, who display an equally quirky spectrum of merchandise, entertainment and personal philosophy. master of my universe will open at The Limerick City Gallery of Art on 2nd November 2017, and draws on work from Nanigian’s California residency including text, photography, soundscapes and a ‘merchandise museum’.
master of my universe 2nd November 2017 – 21st January 2018, Limerick City Gallery of Art.
master of my universe been made accessible for audiences with visual impairments through the Arts Council’s Touring & Dissemination of Work scheme.
Arts & Disability Ireland have provided the audio description for the exhibition at Limerick City Gallery of Art with the use of Discovery Pens, which feature three types of sound file; the audio description, the label text/artwork information and short sound bites of the artist talking about the exhibition.
Please ask at reception for information and equipment.
just a bit extraordinary 21st September – 3rd November 2018, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
The final exhibition in the series, just a bit extraordinary, combines elements of trying to behave and master of my universe with a survey of Nanigian’s first installment in her life cycle series titled not sorry, which was exhibited in 2014. not sorry explores an even earlier life stage through an intimate portrait of the Irish teenager and young adult. Here, the artist goes behind closed doors into the private territory of the bedroom and seeks to expose the genuine individual beneath the public persona.
Taking its title from one of the responses to the same confidential survey, the exhibition combines the personal expression evident on the walls, floors and other surfaces of the bedroom with participants’ frank, and sometimes, brutally honest written expressions of their personal identity. just a bit extraordinary will open at the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda in September, 2018.
The just a bit extraordinary tour is curated by Aoife Ruane, Director of the Highlanes Gallery. The exhibition has received a Touring Award from the Arts Council and is sponsored by Drogheda Credit Union, Drogheda-Bettystown-Trim.
For more information, visit:
From mistaken identities to mysterious mittens – artist Theresa Nanigian collects incredible, touching tales... (and) sets out to capture untold stories from the world.
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