- Venue
- Catalyst Arts
- Starts
- Friday, March 6, 2009
- Ends
- Saturday, April 4, 2009
- Address
- 2rd Floor, 5 College Court Belfast BT1 6BX
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Catalyst Arts presents State of Grace, the first major solo show of 2009 showcasing new work by Belfast based artist, Ursula Burke. For State of Grace, Burke has produced a body of sculptural and photographic work that is tactile, witty, and engages with a wide audience in a debate about the nature of 'Irishness' in contemporary terms. For this exhibition, Burke explores the collision of heritage and modernity in contemporary Ireland. As Irish citizens, visitors or members or the global Irish community, we share a conceptual map that allows us instant access to images of Ireland. Round Towers, Heritage sites, Celtic Crosses, Guinness, Riverdance, pastoral landscapes filled with an abundance of cows and sheep and so fourth are all routinely deployed as emblematic of an Irish experience, an Irish image. Contemporary images of Ireland, however are characterized by rising immigration levels, a floundering economy and the realization of the self, no longer through Catholicism, but through consumer choices. Ireland has become global.In an era where Ireland is witness to a variety of racial confections and national borders are increasingly made more fluid, does this make Irish cultural characteristics and heritage seem more or less important?Ursula Burke, born in Ireland, was educated at the University of Ulster where she is undertaking a PhD.
