PANCHAEA : IN SEARCH OF AN EQUAL UTOPIA AND WILLING SENSE OF DISBELIEF
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Panchaea: VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art & The George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Old Dublin Road, Carlow
Exhibition in Studio and Link Galleries: 26 April – 24 May Panchaea: Lecture and Panel Discussion, 26 April at 2.30 pm in the galleries at VISUAL Lecture: Mind, psychosis and creation: Erik Thys, KU Leuven, Division of Psychiatry Followed by a panel discussion with Professor Declan McGonagle, NCAD (Chair); Erik Thys, KU Leuven, Division of Psychiatry; Denis Roche, Artist; Brian Maguire, Artist; Emma Finucane, Artist; Sinead Dowling, Arts Office & Emma Lucy O’Brien, VISUAL Carlow. |
Panchaea is a new work by Denis Roche in collaboration with Emma
Finucane, Brian Maguire and mental health service users in Carlow.
Using the metaphor of a journey to a mythical island, this major
commission by Carlow Local Authority Arts Office addresses the loss of
sense of self, social stigma and isolation that can occur for a person
living with a mental illness. In a two-year engagement with the local
community and the HSE, the artists explored themes of identity, location
and visibility for people using the mental health service in Carlow.
My role involved engaging directly with a group of mental health service users in Leighlinbridge, County Carlow. We met weekly in Leighlinbridge Parish Centre over a 1-year period. It was agreed that the participants would commission me to work with them individually to make one piece of work. Each work was made for and with the individual overseeing all stages of production. Eight artworks were created and eight books were made documenting the collective research and given to the participants with the artworks. Six months later the participants agreed to temporarily lend the work to VISUAL Carlow for exhibition. Panchaea: VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art & The George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Old Dublin Road, Carlow Exhibition in Studio and Link Galleries: 26 April – 24 May Panchaea: Lecture and Panel Discussion, 26 April at 2.30 pm in the galleries at VISUAL Lecture: Mind, psychosis and creation: Erik Thys, KU Leuven, Division of Psychiatry Followed by a panel discussion with Professor Declan McGonagle, NCAD (Chair); Erik Thys, KU Leuven, Division of Psychiatry; Denis Roche, Artist; Brian Maguire, Artist; Emma Finucane, Artist; Sinead Dowling, Arts Office & Emma Lucy O’Brien, VISUAL Carlow. http://www.artsandhealth.ie/2013/03/19/panchaea-in-search-of-an-equal-utopia-and-a-willing-suspension-of-disbelief/ |
