Suzanne Dolan, Marie Dollard, Tina Hopp

Opening Reception, Friday 2nd September 7pm – 9pm

Artists talk, 23rd September 8pm – 9pm

126, Artist-run Gallery presents Sensory Threshold, an exhibition of new work by three recent graduates from Galway & Mayo Institute of Technology and Limerick School of Art and Design. The title refers to the level of strength a stimulus must reach to be detected. This is comparable to the way that these emerging young artists have provided a powerful enough stimulus, in the form of their own work, to be detected and afforded this opportunity to make themselves apparent to a wider audience. Threshold can also refer to the point at which these artists find themselves in their artistic careers. The work, responding to themes of the abject and liminal spaces include sculptural work, painting, ceramic work and embroidery. Considering their recent transition this exhibition provides a platform for new processes, dialogue and interaction. The artists are at the beginning of their professional careers, and their personal visual language is tentatively starting to emerge and take form.

Suzanne Dolan

‘An animal is defined as any living organism characterised by voluntary movement.’

In her work, Suzanne Dolan aims to use this broad definition to highlight our own skewed perception of animals and what we find acceptable to eat. She looks at the idea that it is more ethical to eat certain animals than others, as hypocritical and seeks to challenge the view that an animal and a piece of meat are two separate things. In her work the hunter becomes the hunted.

Suzanne graduated from LSAD this year with a degree in ceramics. She lives and works in Galway.

Marie Dollard

Marie Dollard exploits the decorative and accessible qualities of traditional embroidery and pairs them with the more grotesque, visceral experiences of the body. The resulting works deal with themes of attraction / repulsion and of feminine identity and aim to subvert the viewers’ expectations.

Marie Dollard was born in 1985 in Laois. She moved to Galway in 2007 to study painting in GMIT, receiving her BFA in 2011. Marie is currently working as a visual artist and divides her time between Laois and Galway.

Tina Hopp

‘In Crisis’

What happens in states of crisis, being confronted with the unexpected, with events that create high levels of uncertainty?

Tina Hopp’s current work explores notions of crisis and related phenomena such as fragility, failure, transformation and liminality. Liminal events refer to in-between situations and conditions that are characterized by the dislocation of established structures, the reversal of hierarchies, and uncertainty regarding the continuity of tradition and future outcomes.In playful and subtle ways, periods of scrutiny are invoked. Central values and axioms are questioned which lead to an instance where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are undone. In such situations, the very structure of society is temporarily suspendedand reality or our perception of it is called into question.

Born in Germany in 1977 Tina Hopp is a visual artist based in the West of Ireland. She holds a BA Honours Degree in Painting from GMIT Galway. An interdisciplinary artist, Tina’s work includes painting, drawing, installation, sound, video, objects and performance. She is a member of the Kitchen Table Collective and is currently based in the Rosa Parks Studios, Galway.