Better Than The Real Thing?, exhibition-in-progress

Better Than the Real Thing?

www.betterthantherealthing.info


an exhibition-in-progress and an invitation to copy, sample, manipulate and re-interpret

Curated by Regina Gleeson

Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl, Enda O'Donoghue, Martin Shannon, Jurgen Simpson and You!

Re-interpretations by Michele Horrigan, Sean Lynch, Coilin Rush, Tara Birmingham, Simon Withers, justinsomnia.org, Paul Rooney, Ian Wieczorek, Charlie Powell, Franziska-Maria Apprich, Tom Flannagan and more.

Through 22 July 2006

Four is pleased to present Better Than the Real Thing?, an exhibition-in-progress that enables endless reinterpretation of ideas by sidestepping the creative limitations of copyright. Exhibited in Four Gallery as well as online, each of four original artworks by Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl, Enda O'Donoghue, Martin Shannon and Jurgen Simpson explores separate aspects of reproduction and re-telling of a story and each work discloses different information about the mark of authenticity in art of the present day.

Saoirse Higgins & Simon Schiessl's interactive media installation, Mechanism No. 1: War, draws inspiration from the re-telling of war in the news media and unsettles the passive absorption of the images of war as the backing track to our lives. Enda O'Donoghue's labour-intensive Gone 410 painting is involved with the subtle translations of images from one circumstance to another while Martin Shannon's photographic image, Self-portrait as Amanda Coogan as David with Cattle lightens the weight of art historical iconography. Similar to Shannon's dialogue across five centuries of art history, Jurgen Simpson's installation takes its point of departure from music of the sixteenth century. His work deconstructs the musical spectrum of a piece of sixteenth century music only to reconstruct it as a new work in a new context. On June 1st, Jurgen Simpson's not-to-be-missed live performance delights in the high art of mass culture through the soundscape of twentieth century cartoons. Each of the above mentioned works are of the highest standard in their own right but become even more dynamic by their openness to re-interpretation and their creative integrity in existing outside of the tight aura of reverence to the artist's signature.

Please forward queries to the curator at [email protected]


Gallery hours: Saturdays 1-6pm and by appointment

For further information please contact:

Lee Welch, Four Gallery, 11 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland.

T: +353.86.3651256

W: www.betterthantherealthing.info