LCGA Exhibitions

cover image:  ‘Happy House’ 2024 Shell/Ter Artist Collective

‘In a Dream in a Happy House’ is S/TAC’s third show to date and their first show that focuses solely on the collective itself rather than through the lens of a historical collection or role as artistic shelter.  Once again, S/TAC zones in on the emotional and psychological theme of shelter but this time sets it in a more ominous expression; one of confinement, duty, expectation and the delusions of domestic bliss. 

Taking inspiration in the title from the 1980s Siouxsie and the Banshees track ‘Happy House’, which is both an ironic take and a protest against an ideal of domesticity. S/TAC questions the ambiguity of a safe, protective and detached shelter, by highlighting issues surrounding claustrophobia, containment and captivity. As ever, the expression of this concept is closely linked to the body, through identity, our many selves, the collective and the collective experience.

This exhibition highlights the role of an artist collective as a form of support, encouraging experimentation and the many hybrids that can develop alongside individual practices, which include painting, photography, print, installation and film. In this context, the ‘dream in a happy house’ is a space for the embodiment of ideas, creating the possibility for the body to function as the object, subject, material, and source of symbolic construction, and where the multiplicity of our many selves including that of the viewer, finds expression.

The Shell/Ter Artist Collective (S/TAC)

The Shell/Ter Artist Collective (S/TAC) evolved organically during the pandemic 2020 and was driven by a desire of the artists to talk about the effects, both personal and professional, of a shifting and unpredictable world. In this dynamic space the artists found ways to explore, enrich and diversify their independent practice while supporting one another. The Collective explores the concept of shelter from emotional, psychological, and philosophical perspectives and previous exhibitions include ‘Shelter’ at the National Gallery of Ireland 2023 and ‘The ladder is always there’ in Draiocht in 2023/2024. Shared identity, common purpose and egalitarian values underpin much of the desire to work as a group, and the nature of this engagement continues to shift and develop.

Diana Copperwhite (RHA): http://www.dianacopperwhite.net

Allyson Keehan: https://www.allysonkeehan.ie

Niamh McGuinne: https://www.niamhmcguinne.com

Sharon Murphy: https://www.sharonmurphy.ie

Geraldine O’Neill (RHA): https://www.geraldineoneill.ie  

LCGA will publish a booklet within the run of the exhibition with a commissioned text by Cristín Leach 

LCGA will host a talk with Cristín Leach and participating artists on Thursday 18^th July at 2pm

Any queries please email artgallery@limerick.ie