By Claire Corrigan
An exhibition titled ‘Little Stories Little Prints – A 1916 Commemorative Visual Art Project Through Printmaking’ is currently on display at the Atrium, County Buildings in Mullingar. 49 printmakers from eight printmaking studios around Ireland accepted an invitation to participate in the project, which aims to create awareness of little known events or incidents during or around the time of the Easter Rising in 1916.
The exhibition has 60 prints and features pieces by three local artists, Paul Roy, John Curran and Geraldine O’Reilly, all of whom gave speeches at the exhibition opening on Thursday, 11 February.
Westmeath County Council Conservation Architect, Bernadette Solon told Topic that she was delighted that the event had come to Mullingar. “I was asked if I would be able to hold the exhibition here and I jumped at the opportunity because it’s a great exhibition and I knew it was going to be. We have three local artists also speaking at the opening as well. I’m suggesting that people come during the day because the light is better and they will be able to see the great work here by the artists. We are honoured to be the second exhibtion venue. The first was Dublin and to get it here in Westmeath as number two is great.”
The artists researched incidents and aspects of life at the time and created little prints in response to their research. Beginning with the exhibition in the Little Museum of Dublin, St Stephen’s Green, the project will tour libraries and venues in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Cork, Galway and Donegal during the year.
Talking about his print, ‘Eugene prepares for the Big Day’, which was inspired by his wife’s grandfather who took part in the Rising, Mullingar based artist Paul Roy said, “I saw this 19-year-old guy and on the morning of the Rising. I see him getting ready for a big day. You know when you get ready for a job interview, or to go abroad or get married. It interested me that he got up in the morning and he put on his best clothes and shaved and did his hair and went off like any other day. It was a big day but it was just another day too. As an artist, I wanted to do something that I could relate to. His daughter was so happy that I was making the print and if you can touch somebody like that, you know you’ve done the right thing. For me it was just a little story about a man in transition.”
Geraldine O’Reilly’s print, ‘The Moment of Surrender’, captures how Elizabeth O’Farrell was effectively ‘airbrushed’ out of history when her shoes were all that were left visible in the photograph of the 1916 surrender, in which she appeared alongside Padraig Pearse. “If you look at the print, you can see her foot behind him but in the published photography of the event, it was removed. I wanted to put her back into the picture. To prove that she was there, I printed the letter General William Lowe sent with her, asking Pearse to follow her to Britain Street to surrender. In many cases, women were erased out of the story. At the moment I’m doing work about another woman, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, who was a doctor during the Rising, and who again had been removed from history.”
The exhibition will be on display at the Atrium, County Buildings, Mull-ingar, until February 28th.
