Monica Flynn

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These works were part of the exhibition The Author of Unusual Papers, at Dublin City Council’s The Lab Gallery,  in May 2011.  This group show was developed in collaboration with artists Diana Caramaschi, Colleen Lambe, Susan Thomson and curator Claire Behan.

Using childhood photographs as source material I developed drawings of my fellow artists.  All works in this series responded to a text, of the same title, by Susan Thomson, in which Susan self-reflexively examined her identity as an author, expressing a desire for complete originality, which if successful would obscure her identity.  My response to Susan’s thinking was to consider ideas of an authentic or archetypal self and the potentiality of childhood.

The works in this series were predominantly drawings but also included a short video work Dancing in the Dark and an Astrological chart for the opening date of the show.

I had previously used astrology as a framework in which to critique an art event. In this case I was considering the meaning of the show The Author of Unusual Papers and how the audience understanding of a work or exhibition completes the work of art i.e. the art work lives in the presence of a viewer or viewers.  During the exhibition I staged an astrological reading with a professional astrologer, as a means of engaging audience in a discussion about the exhibition.

Susan later reflections on the exhibition can be found on David Berridge’s site A Very Small Kitchen.