Last month’s opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem served to re-ignite Palestinian rage against what many there regard as a latter-day ‘Crusader’ state, a term with particular resonance in that region. No other city juxtaposes such piety and passion as Jerusalem. It is sacred to the three great monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and … Read more
In and between these lines I will explore aspects of the fascinating and dynamic relationship between music, identity and place. Reflecting on my own musical ventures, as well as turning to secondary sources discussing theoretical concepts on the topic, I will point to various ways in which one’s relation to a place is both reflected in, … Read more
June 1985: I was at work in my garden shed, when I heard someone talking. I looked out and saw a man with a sub-machine gun. He was guarding the back of the old synagogue, that had become the Irish Jewish museum. President Chaim Hertzog, who was raised in Dublin, was opening it that fine … Read more
‘I had a dream about you last night.’ Sarah, stuffing wet tuna into pitta pockets and wondering if she could just put the same tangerine, uneaten from yesterday, back into Noah’s lunchbox, stiffened. The now-familiar tightening of her neck, shoulders and arms at the sound of Juliette’s voice went through her like one of those … Read more
Ibrahim Mahama grew up in Tamale, north Ghana, where he was in daily contact with objects and materials that developed a double meaning for him. His artwork began as a collage and patchwork of items surrounding his daily life, without being explicitly political. Out of his own lived experiences he re-contextualises spaces and working processes, … Read more
Missiles flashed, and it was beautiful— flares in the darkness of a fallen world where Satan plays the good guy in a wig. I’m in my safe space, a battered easy chair, swearing at the laptop, at the stream of video and voices, overlaid on top of breakfast. Coffee’s gone lukewarm, the trail’s gone cold. … Read more
I first came across Dragana Jurišić’s work in the National Gallery of Ireland, when her ‘Tarantula’ was displayed as part of the ‘After Vermeer’ exhibition in 2017. ‘Tarantula’ was a contemporary response to the Vermeer exhibition, which featured a series of photographic self-portraits of overlapping dancing figures. Jurišić says she was ‘immediately struck by the … Read more
It is as if anyone writing about Venezuela must pass through the red channel, for all have something to declare. The competing narratives of Left and Right offer ideologically-tainted accounts, often saying more about any commentator’s domestic politics than Venezuela’s predicament. But even diehard supporters of the country’s charismatic former President Hugo Chávez cannot deny … Read more
Born by the river, out in the sticks I was born on a bend on the Forty Eighty-six Making old friends, Rubicon tricks Much still to fix on the Forty Eighty-six Romans rode here, hear the hoof clicks Some see their ghosts on the Forty Eighty-six Journey’s the same, the dead and … Read more
“Iggy‘s not coming for lunch?” asked Ron. He tasted his breathe while talking, it smelt surprisingly of milk. “Need to get a shower,” he said. A television was blinking upstairs. The automatic shutdown announced the television will be black in few minutes. Iggy was lying on the floor looking at the ceiling. He started figuring … Read more