The LAB Gallery is pleased to present this exhibition of new work by Dublin based artist John Byrne, co-produced with the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.

Best known for his public art commissions, The LAB has invited John Byrne to make a return to the gallery and reconsider his through provoking work, Would you die for Ireland (2003) initially presented in Kilmainham Gaol, involved the mic-wielding artist posing the emotive question to passers by on the streets of Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Those confronted also included members of the Defence Forces, Gardaí, The Orange Order and the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. For this new exhibition, Byrne researched the stories of the Monto in 1916 with local historian Terry Fagan and revisited his 2002 film, Would you die for Ireland? in the context of the decade of commemorations.

Alongside this iconic film will be several pieces that draw heavily from John’s personal experiences as a young child of the nationalist community growing up during the Troubles in Belfast. Peep reflects on the time in John’s young life when the Irish flag was banned (as were all other foreign flags). Here Byrne combines child hood memories of a visit to Casement Park with an encounter in Amsterdam’s red light district as a teenager. As a result the flag is presented as something illicit and slightly fetishised. Several large scale photographic works remember visits to Dublin and the Gaeltacht as a child.

Originally from Belfast, John works in multi-media and performance with a background in public art. Commissions include Dublin’s Last Supper, on the Millenium Walkway in Dublin and the Ballymun Equestrian Project. He attended the Art College in Belfast and then The Slade School in London after which he developed a body of work through performance culminating with his stint as Director of “The Border Interpretative Centre” (2000), a short lived visitor centre and gift shop on the main Dublin / Belfast Road.

This exhibition forms part of the LAB Gallery’s year long investigation into commemoration through a programme of commissions and partnerships with researchers, artists, historians, institutions and communities supported by Dublin City Council Commemorations programme and the Arts Council of Ireland.