Amidst a large crowd of students, faculty and Granville residents, “Out of Belfast” opened this past Friday (Sept. 10) at the Burke Hall Art Gallery.
The exhibit will be open daily from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through October 17.
The gallery will be exhibiting works by three women artists, all from Belfast: Kathy Herbert, Sharon Kelly, and Eilis O’Baoill. In addition, the gallery will be featuring a catalogue of works of four artists: Ann Henderson, Aisling O’Beien, Sally Young, and Susan Mac William.
“Identity is a key word in this exhibition,” noted Merijn van der Heiden of the art department.
Sharon Kelly worked from her personal experiences to create “Mother, Daughter.”
“[It is] very quiet, very personal, but extremely powerful,” said van der Heijden.
For her exhibit, Kelly is dealing with her own losses to create something that is universal and can be enjoyed by all who view it. Through this medium, she is able to cope with memories and transition to create an identity for herself.
Kathy Herbert’s “Working for Home” focused on the hands of 30 women to document their daily life. She focused on women work
ing in their homes.
Interestingly, Herbert does not show the faces of the women, but only their hands.
“Being a woman I can relate to the prospects of balancing a career and motherhood,” said one attendee, who also pointed out how Herbert is able to carry the past and look to the future.
Eilis O’ Baoill listened to her heart to create “Heart Language.” For this exhibit, she listened to her heartbeat and put what she heard into words.
In addition, O’Baoill uses symbols and slippage in language to try and understand her own heartbeat. According to van der Heijden, this is “a form of identity, but much more universal.”
“It’s a terrific opportunity to speak to an audience in a totally different part of the world,” said O’Baoill. “I hope that people get as much out of it as I have.”
The exhibit was primarily organized by Art Department chair Joy Sperling, a native of Lisburn, a town eight miles outside of the city of Belfast. “[It is] an effort on my part to let seven Belfast artists speak for themselves without any intermediation.”
In addition to the exhibit, there will be a symposium from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. tonight (Sept. 13) in the Burke Hall Art Gallery.
