Willie Doherty
dal 24/4/2009 al 11/7/2009
Segnalato da
24/4/2009
Willie Doherty
The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
Doherty's work is rooted in the political and geographical landscape of his native Northern Ireland. It expands out of this context to address universally significant themes of individual and collective subjectivity and responsibility, creating a persistently significant framework within which to think about who we are, and where and how we live.
A major exhibition of films and photographs by Willie Doherty, one of the most
significant artists of our times. Rooted in the political and geographical landscape
of his native Northern Ireland, Doherty’s work expands out of this context to
address universal themes of individual and collective subjectivity and
responsibility, creating a new framework within which to think about who we are and
how we live.
This exhibition brings together a selection of new and existing films and
photographs, and includes a new film, Buried, made specially for the exhibition. The
new film was made and is shown in the context of Ghost Story, first shown at the
Venice Biennale in 2007. Both of the works deal with memory, its repression and
return, but while Ghost Story is narrated by a male voice piecing together a story
of remembered horror, Buried relies on ambient sound to animate its dark, almost
gothic woodland imagery. The films influence each other, the recounted memories,
dreams and premonitions of Ghost Story seeping into Buried.
Also in the exhibition is Re-Run (2002), a double-screen projection showing a man on
a bridge simultaneously running towards and away from the viewer. The film was shot
on the Craigavon Bridge over the River Foyle, which literally and symbolically
divides the Catholic and Protestant communities in Derry. It is shown together with
a new series of photographs taken in Belfast, in which images taken now are joined
by several taken in 1988 but never previously shown. The artist’s return to his own
history has a resonance with the imagery of remembering and forgetting that
motivates Ghost Story, Buried and much of his work.
Fiona Bradley, Director of The Fruitmarket Gallery
Willie Doherty makes hauntingly beautiful and extremely powerful work.
Pertinent and political, it takes its cue from the events which shape contemporary
life, while providing a way for us to make sense of them. We are especially pleased
that the artist has agreed to make a new film for this exhibition, and look forward
to the resonances it will set up both within his work and with the concerns and
experiences of our audience.
Image: Buried, 2009. Courtesy the artist. Commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery with support from The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
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Louise Anderson P 0131 226 8182 E marketing@fruitmarket.co.uk
The Fruitmarket Gallery
45 Market Street - Edinburgh
Open Mon-Sat 11am–6pm Sun 12noon–5pm
Free admission