Press release
CITIZENS?: An exhibition of artworks by Belinda Loftus and Manar Al Shouha exploring themes of citizenship, identity and the sense of home
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Rathfarnham Castle and the Office of Public Works (OPW) are pleased to announce CITIZENS? an exhibition of artworks by Belinda Loftus and Manar Al Shouha.
CITIZENS? is an exhibition of art works (paintings and installations) about the difficulties suffered by those caught up in conflict and forced migration and explores questions and possibilities about where we truly belong and what ‘home’ means.
The exhibition will be officially opened on Thursday, 8 September, by Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, and will run until 23 October 2022 at Rathfarnham Castle.
Belinda Loftus is a descendant of Adam Loftus who commissioned the building of Rathfarnham Castle in the 1580s. Belinda Loftus spent her early life in England, with frequent visits to Ireland. She is a British and Irish citizen and moved to Northern Ireland in 1975. She had a work exhibited in Documenta in 1977 as part of Joseph Beuys’ Free International University and in the Art for Society exhibition in the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Ulster Museum in 1978. She then worked as visual arts researcher, curator, administrator and consultant, before returning to art practice twenty years ago, gaining a degree in Fine Art at the University of Ulster in 2011, and exhibiting widely in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Belinda’s artworks portray servants and children who lived and worked in Rathfarnham Castle, but who would have had very mixed experiences and realities. In relation to the concept of nationality, Belinda exhibits large pastel works which refer visually to the burial of bodies in bogs in prehistoric Ireland and more recent years. Alongside these, she shows images inspired by the complex family histories emphasising the frequent crossing of perceived political boundaries. She also shows a range of works about the difficulties of migrants and the involvement of governments and corporations in some of the causes of migration. Belinda’s final group of works celebrate her strong belief that we find true strength in recognising co-citizenship with non-human elements of the universe.
Manar Al Shouha grew up in Damascus, Syria, and is currently living in Dublin and seeking asylum. She completed a Degree in Fine Art Painting from Damascus University in 2016. Manar has a studio-based painting practice. She has shown in a wide range of exhibitions from 2015 – 2021, including collective group shows from 2018 to 2021 in the National Centre for Visual Arts, Samer Kozah Gallery and the Al Hekmieh Art Gallery, Damascus, Syria. In 2019, she was invited to show as part of Beirut Art Week in Lebanon.
Manar’s paintings Damascus to Dublin reveal the delicate, changing and fleeting nature of human life, of how a sense of home and citizenship has been eroded and silenced by more than a decade of conflict in Syria. Her paintings are anchored by the reassuring figure of her mother alongside new paintings of her life in Dublin.
Both Belinda and Manar exhibit a range of images about the difficulties suffered by those caught up in conflict and forced migration. A common theme for both artists is reclaiming images of those rendered partially or wholly invisible for different reasons.
Citizens? is supported by the Arts Council, the Centre for Creative Practices, Common Ground, the Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland and the Office of Public Works.
For further information and images, please contact:
info@commonground.ie or 01 7078766
Rathfarnham Castle is a National Historic Property managed by the Office of Public Works. In addition to guided tours, Rathfarnham Castle runs an extensive cultural programme that includes exhibitions, musical events, theatre, talks, readings and participates in established cultural initiatives including National Heritage Week, Culture Night, Open House, One City One Book and Red Line Book Festival. See https://rathfarnhamcastle.ie/
Exhibition: CITIZENS?
Location: Rathfarnham Castle, Rathfarnham, Dublin D14 K3T6
Dates: Friday, 9 September – Sunday, 23 October
Times:
September: Daily 9.30am – 5.30pm
October: Wednesday to Sunday 10.30am – 5pm
Admission: Free