March 30, 2015

Neither Here Nor There

Rita Duffy

My work has evolved out of a Belfast context heavily inscribed by the visual components of social, political and national affiliations where meaning is not neutral. Northernness is a recurring theme. Not just the physical and psychological reality of the North of Ireland, but the very sense of “Northernness” both as an interior wilderness and a place at the edge of imagination. I move between the private world of my studio practice and public projects that engage within a community context. Extensive workshops and research gathering feed one project into another, a symbiosis that nourish and challenge. Making drawings in the studio is a trusted practice of intense enquiry and thought where ideas manifest, connect and invigorate my practice. My work is layered with historical references, provocative elements fuse with the surreal, often presenting dark and humorous constructs - that challenge established codes of signification but also reference socio-political concerns. Recently I relocated my studio base to straddle the Irish border, I continue to work in a rich and complex cultural landscape, in a physical place of increased confusions and immense creative possibility.

Monday, March 30, 2015
4:30–6:00 PM
Porter Hall 100