New Mayo exhibition explores changing social and demographics of rural life

Áras Inis Gluaire in Belmullet is hosting an exhibition of the work of artist Pamela de Brí until Friday, September 17.

This is the first exhibition of Re:Place, which has been in gestation for almost three years and which explores the changing social and demographics of Irish rural life.

The artist explores the themes of place - land, home, location, placing and replacing.

“This land has been inhabited for over 10,000 years,” she explains. “Land use changes and develops as society changes and develops.

“As humans move from manual cultivation of the land to mechanical and industrial methods, various layers of marks are left on the landscape and this evidence of past societies alters the environment and terrain, both natural and built.”

Pamela de Brí is a Kildare-based artist currently working in printmaking, painting, photography and video.

Her practice explores and engages with the changing social and environmental landscape of Ireland. She focuses on an aspect of society, researches it, engages with relevant people, explores the location and builds a body of documentation which inspires the resulting art work.

In 2013 she followed, by bicycle, an old railway network, which wove its way across Ireland and documented the journey in notebooks and audio recordings.

The resulting body of work (Midland - Lár Tíre) was exhibited in venues in Dublin and around Ireland: Linenhall, Castlebar, Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Mullingar Arts Centre, National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar, Dublin.

Her printmaking work has been selected for exhibitions in New York, Vancouver, South Australia, Spain, France and Bulgaria and Ireland (Éigse Carlow, Impressions, Galway, Kilkenny Arts Festival).

Her work is in public and private collections in Ireland, (OPW, Kildare County Council, Dublin City Council, CIÉ) and in Spain, Portugal, Australia, Canada, Bermuda and France.