North by North

North by North

Flowerfield Angie and Cheryl in Portstewart are chatty and helpful. They provide me with information on how I might approach the Flowerfield Centre for an exhibition. We talk about the new (ish) borough of ‘Causeway Coast & Glens’ and none of us can quite agree on...
Sense of Place – Joseph Nawaz

Sense of Place – Joseph Nawaz

The “Sense of Place” that Jonathan Brennan invites us to share in this his latest collection of Belfast landscapes (and beyond) is a dislocated one. It’s a sense that’s far removed from the comforting notion of “home” that such a title usually invites. Brennan brings...
‘No Filter’

‘No Filter’

Exhibition ‘No Filter’ featuring the work of Esther O’Kelly and NOTPOP took place at Canvas Galleries in May 2023. Discussing the work of two artists in one text generates its own particular challenges. Making comparisons and identifying points of...
Critique | ‘Fix Your Pony!’

Critique | ‘Fix Your Pony!’

First published in the VAN (Visual Artist’s News Sheet) 10 May 2023. ‘Fix Your Pony!’ is the fifth iteration of the Naughton Gallery’s ongoing sports exhibition series, featuring works that, according to the gallery literature, tackle “race, gender,...
‘UPHOLD: New Collections’

‘UPHOLD: New Collections’

Somebody turned to me and said: “It’s like when you see a gallery opening in an American film; it looks a bit like this.” We were three floors up, not quite a New York loft, rather a high-spec office block, with metallic flooring, industrial lighting, and whitewashed...