The LAB Gallery is pleased to present its latest exhibition and the first major solo show by recent graduate Michelle Malone, O, to have a little house.

Michelle’s work is rooted in a desire to materially explore working class histories through personal experience.

This exhibition considers her childhood experience of home, including the Oliver Bond flats and most particularly her grandmother’s house and experience of moving from the city centre tenements to new social housing in the suburbs. Through sculpture, installation, textile and film, the exhibition celebrates her grandmother’s pride in her home, recalling specific details and drawing on the material nature of memories. The staircase manifests as a focal point, recalling the artist’s memory of where the special conversations might take place. Michelle’s research considers where personal narratives fill gaps in collective histories through the material nature of objects and physical retelling through large scale sculpture and installation. She is interested in creating affected meaning through working-class materials and objects.

The exhibition will be part of our Culture Night events programme on September 23rd and also the two day conference Streets Ahead: Post-Pandemic Civic Spaces, organised by The Irish Humanities Alliance (IHA) in collaboration with Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and The LAB Gallery, 9th-10th September.

This exhibition also takes place as part of Dublin Festival of History 2022. Dublin Festival of History is brought to you by Dublin City Council and organised by Dublin City Libraries, in partnership with Dublin City Council Culture Company. For the full programme please visit www.dublinfestivalofhistory.ie