PhotoIreland Festival 2013 catalogue

New Irish WorksLimerickCáit FaheyBored GamesOur relationship to everyday life is oneof habit, so much so that we hardlyregister what is around us.These photographs suggest theuncertainty of once familiar scenes.Gráinne QuinlanThe StrawboysFound in rural parts of Ireland wherethere is a strong connection to heritageand tradition, Strawboys or Mummersperform through song, dance andpure mischievous fun. These groupstraditionally present themselves to theirlocal community disguised behind masksand elaborate costumes which are madefrom the humblest of readily availablematerials: straw. In this series of formalportraits, Quinlan and her subjects haveunited to honour, record and celebratethis colourful tradition and curiosity.Ieva BaltaduonyteMigracijosTransnational migration is an immense phenomenon of this postcolonial era,involving the movement of significant numbers of people globally every day.Many are forced to leave due to extreme circumstances while others leave to gainnew experiences. Subsequently, mobility, displacement and transculturalism areinseparable characteristics of contemporary society. Migracijos explores aspectsof migratory culture and in particular the ways in which displacement affects andtransforms the lives of migrants. It questions what is lost and what is gained in theprocess of transition between leaving home and settling in the host country.Ieva Baltaduonyte addresses these issues through a dialogue with Lithuanianwomen representing two generations who came to live in Ireland during the ‘CelticTiger’ years. The resulting ‘conversations’ reveal intimate intercultural complexities.These personal narratives speak of the in-between place where language andnotions of home and can no longer be defined as fixed entities.26 27