Aidan Kelly Murphy

A Fragile Line | Oisín Tozer at The LAB Gallery Cracking exhibition by @otozer.va in @thelabgallery . Curated by @margaritacappock , ‘A Fragile Line’ has wonderful pictorial and sculptural works that contemplate their materials, materiality, and space within the gallery. Be sure to read @niamhdarling_ ’s text too! Continues until 11th April.

Delighted to have OVER Journal issue 4 part of the @100archive 2025 OVER Journal is a publishing project by PhotoIreland that represents in every issue a critical selection of contemporary photographic practices from all continents. Issue 4 explores themes around representation and the evolving role of the image in shaping history and identity, articulating new representations that challenge historical legacies - with contributions from artists and writers spanning six continents. Featured works include a range of topics investigating representation, from Basil Al-Rawi’s challenge of the narrative representation of Iraq and its diaspora to Tashiya de Mel’s investigation into visual history of Dutch colonisation in Sri Lanka; from Marianne Keating’s work on shared colonial and revolutionary histories of lands to Jakob Ganslmeier and Ana Zibelnik’s analysis of extremist visual language online, and from Morganna Magee’s research into the historical representation of the kangaroo providing a framework by which we can assess the treatment and narrative building on non-white bodies in visual history to Liss Fenwick’s interrogation of historical and ongoing impacts of extractive colonialist practices in Australia’s Northern Territory. Issue 4 offers these and much more to excite and inspire the reader. Featured artists: Basil Al-Rawi, Alan Butler, Simone C. Niquille, Tashiya de Mel, Imane Djamil, Liss Fenwick, Jakob Ganslmeier, Souheila Ghorbel, Yasmine Hatimi, Bassam Issa Al-Sabah, Amina Kadous, Marianne Keating, Ayoung Kim, Seif Kousmate, Jennifer Mehigan, Hashim Nasr, Alex Prager, Felipe Romero Beltrán, Zohra Serri, Abdo Shanan, Aaryan Sinha, Inuuteq Storch, Rebecca Topakian, Ana Zibelnik. Featured writers: Laura Carbonell, Richard Conway, Sharbendu De, Tashiya de Mel, Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, Aidan Kelly Murphy, Laila Lund Altinbas, Morganna Magee, Ruairí McCann, Rehan Miskci, Nora O Murchú, Andrea Stultiens. Cover image Bassam Issa Al-Sabah and Jennifer Mehigan, Still from Uncensored Lilac (2024). All Rights Reserved. Back cover image Hoda Afshar, Untitled #01, from the series Code Black/Riot, 2025. With the support of @artscouncilireland

Delighted to announce that I’ll be hosting an @rha.arts Masterclass next month on art writing. Titled ‘Articulating Your Practice: From Studio to Statement‘, this two-part workshop intends to support people in developing texts that succinctly discuss their practice and projects to aid discussion about their work and assist them in applications. More details via link in bio.

Geraldine O'Neill for The Visual Artists’ News Sheet I wrote about O'Neill's 'Flicker, Flicker' exhibition in @kevinkavanaghgallery for the latest issue of VAN. A great show to engage with and write about. From the Irish language to art history, so many wonderful rabbit holes to explore within these paintings! Huge thanks to Joanne for her editorial support on this, massively appreciated as always. #geraldineoneill #irishpainting

Delighted to start the year by receiving the @overjournal featuring writing about my work by Irish writer Aidan Kelly Murphy @akellymurphy . Holy dooley it’s good!! Honoured by Aidan’s thoughtful engagement with this long term project involving termites and settler fan fiction. Thank you Aidan for going the extra mile, reading my PhD, and engaging with ideas of extractivism, imposed knowledge systems, and colonialism in Australia’s Northern Territory. A long way from Dublin but something the Irish are sadly all too familiar with. Excited that this work will materialise into a photobook this year. A book about books 📚 ♾️ 🐜 The edition also has a great article on fav artist Alan Butler on his work with representation and American landscape photography. Back cover image slays by @hodaafshar and Cairns based aboriginal org Youth Empowered Towards Independence Bonus shot of moi with Xmas pressie from moi 🚜 💨

The annual gathering of 5. We've been there and back again and you couldn't ask for a better crew! 📷:@akellymurphy

The Last Straw Yana Wernicke for Issue 5 of @overjournal . Earlier this year, we featured @yanawernicke ’s ‘Die Verwandlung’ (The Metamorphosis/Transformation) as part of our FUTURES edition. The time of year in Ireland, with the Wren Boys dressing up in straw, had me thinking about this project again. Writing about the mysticism of the practice and the social commentary in Wernicke’s images was a real pleasure; such rich, delicate, and powerful images of intimacy and fragility. Additionally, getting to work with ​​our guest editors: @_svetlana_malina_ of @fotograf.zone ; @mucsimesi of @capacenter ; and @raphaellestopin of @centrephotographique alongside Angel (@bohoe ), Julia (@julia.gelezova ), and Erik (@erikvroons ) was a great experience - as was the trust shown by @futuresphotography to be their publishing partner for 2025. Onto 2026! Keep safe, and above all: stay critical!

Alan Butler - ASSETS - Green on Red A rather brilliant show by Alan Butler. A wide variety of mediums, techniques, and approaches, all focused on interrogating the image, capital, and the production and display of space. These images do a poor service to the experience of being surrounded by these artworks, which continually engage with and respond to the systems they comment on. It was also great to see Alan’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ works in person again. I wrote about this incredible series of images on Issue 4 of @overjournal . This week is the last to see ASSETS, don’t sleep on it!

Back in 2020 I first encountered the work of @christopher_steenson via his ‘On Chorus’ project. First published on @fallow__media , it was only listenable during the hours of 8am and 9am. I became intrigued with this aspect of slowing down and methodologically planning engagement - I became even more fascinated, after it was broadcast in Connolly station on this day 5 years ago, living so close to the station, that I hear its comings and goings - particularly its activity when the area becomes quieter at night. The subsequent record, which came with a wonderful text by Ann Maria Healy, is still something I will often listen to - but only from 8am to 9pm as per the instructions! - on weekend mornings as I pack supplies for a walk, invariably past the railway lines visible in the record’s inner images. 2022’s ‘Soft Rains Will Come’ in VISUAL was exceptional, and ‘They haven’t gone away you know’ continues my enjoyment of his practice. After daytime visits to see the show I picked up a copy of the publication, which will be a lovely afterthought to return to as a document of the show and of Chris’ wider and rich research. I realised after reading this that it was more a nocturnal pursuit. Subsequent visits have required light checking, and this week, its last few days, will see a post-sunset trip for one last visit, to listen out for the Corncrake one more time. It remains open until Sunday in @motherstankstation , well worth the trip - regardless of the time of day.

Regenerative Consumption Liss Fenwick for Issue 4 of @overjournal On the 3rd September 2024, I met Liss for the first time in Dublin one morning for a coffee and some chats, taking in some shows and discussing work. Little did I know that this encounter would lead to a lengthy engagement with their practice, and a year later this piece. Liss was very kind in sharing research material, and over countless hours thinking about their work, zoom calls, and emails, this text came together. Engaging with Liss’ work had a lasting and unquestionably material impact on how I think about art and my practice, with this being one of those most research-heavy approaches I have taken to a text - drawn from research in First Nation experiences in Australia, extractive settler colonialism, and performative elements of auto-destrictive art, and many, many rabbit holes into termites and the sources of copper and metals used in gardening supplies in the middle-aisles of discount supermarkets. It was also extra special to see their work in person this year in Arles with my gardening partner-in-crime Isobel, a lovely epilogue to the text. Planning is already underway for how we’ll make our garden more insect and bug-friendly in 2026, and I look forward to the possibility that one day this text will be fed to the mighty Mastotermes darwiniensis. You can grab copies of the latest issues of OVER via @tlp_says and @photoireland

Delighted to be involved in this coming weekend’s panel discussion on the RDS Graduate Award in the RHA Gallery as part of Dublin Gallery Weekend. The panel will feature Dr Niamh O’Malley, this year’s RDS Graduate Award Curator, as well as past RDS Award Alumni Elaine Hoey, Michelle Malone, and Oisin Tozer. The event is free, starting from 2pm on Sunday; and you can book via the link in my bio or by going to the RHA’s website. @dublingalleryweekend @rha.arts @omalleyniamh @michelle_malone_ @otozer.va #dublingalleryweekend #rdsaward

My favourite part of ordering a book from @photomuseumirl is going in to pick it up and get to see what show they have on. Currently it’s Steve Pyke (@pyke.eye ) and his excellent work. My visit also coincided with him getting his portrait taken - a nice twist to get to see the great portraitist on the other side of the lens. #stevepyke #photography #ireland