I departed the fine shores of the Emerald isle many moons ago, and here I am, my not so triumphant return to Belfast, plunged into the depth of an art scene I had not even realised existed. As this is my first article (and possibly last if it goes down like a lead balloon). To celebrate my return have decided to review the most Irish themed exhibition I could find. So Irish in fact I wanted to have an aftertaste of potatoes and catholic guilt. Striking gold, when I found Ursula Burkes exhibition ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on’, displaying beautifully crafted porcelain sculptures and embroidery, which is meant to promote a re-reading of contemporary representations of Ireland. Touching on issues such as the troubles, child abuse and religious iconography. Displaying the negative stereotypes of Ireland’s culture. For example, the Virgin Mary statue draped in a white porcelain cloth, wearing gold high top trainers. The work itself is wonderfully crafted, fine details of delicate porcelain and lavish gold tips. The majority of the work is perfectly finished, but sadly certain pieces seem sloppy and childlike. A recreation of an Irish thug sitting on a sofa seems almost like primary school project compared to the rest of the pieces. Which in my view ruined the flow of the exhibition and dragged the rest down.
The two embroidery pieces which seem dislocated from the exhibition, one displays a pair of socks, green white and gold and winnie the pooh in a balaclava. This unfortunately reminds me of going to Irish markets and being exposed to the Irish stalls selling humorous Irish propaganda. Not particularly thought provoking, perhaps a little sad and dated. The exhibition outline uses such words as materialism, isolation, and exclusion. Leading me to believe a serious statement was about to be either declared or forced down my throat, but Burke has presented these stereotypes in such a humorous manner it’s hard to take them seriously. Resulting in the ‘Father Ted’ effect where Irish people look out-dated and caught in their own stereotype. Never could I have thought that humour and exquisitely made pieces of porcelain would have collided.
This collaboration is a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately the meaning behind the work has been done to death. Taking Andres Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ for example where he actually made people think and had a statement to say, rather than having an amusing poke at Irish culture. Breaking these stereotypes is what would have excited me, saying all that I would recommend open minded people to view these elegant pieces of comical porcelain, however if you are in any way an Irish stereotype steer clear, this is your comedy roast.
The two embroidery pieces which seem dislocated from the exhibition, one displays a pair of socks, green white and gold and winnie the pooh in a balaclava. This unfortunately reminds me of going to Irish markets and being exposed to the Irish stalls selling humorous Irish propaganda. Not particularly thought provoking, perhaps a little sad and dated. The exhibition outline uses such words as materialism, isolation, and exclusion. Leading me to believe a serious statement was about to be either declared or forced down my throat, but Burke has presented these stereotypes in such a humorous manner it’s hard to take them seriously. Resulting in the ‘Father Ted’ effect where Irish people look out-dated and caught in their own stereotype. Never could I have thought that humour and exquisitely made pieces of porcelain would have collided.
This collaboration is a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately the meaning behind the work has been done to death. Taking Andres Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ for example where he actually made people think and had a statement to say, rather than having an amusing poke at Irish culture. Breaking these stereotypes is what would have excited me, saying all that I would recommend open minded people to view these elegant pieces of comical porcelain, however if you are in any way an Irish stereotype steer clear, this is your comedy roast.
‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on’ Ursula Burke
Ps2 Gallery 29th August – 24th September 2011
Free Admission
Links: www.pssquared.org
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