Sir Roger Casement is a man born in the wrong age. An upstanding Irish nationalist and British civil servant, handsome, adored and fearless, he dedicated his life to fighting for the freedom of slaves. Yet his undoing comes at his own hands through his sexual proclivity towards the very slave men he fought to free and a series of tragic decisions that push Casement towards the wrong side of history.

Berlin based, British/Japanese artist Simon Fujiwara’s new project, The Humanizer,places Casement’s extraordinary biography at the core of an imagined new Hollywood biopic, taking the life of the compelling yet baffling figure of Roger Casement through the conventions of the Hollywood narrative machine in order to expose our modern day desire for the perfect Hollywood hero in an age where everyone is somebody.

This new commission for IMMA is presented for the first time on the occasion of the centenary of the historic Easter uprisings of 1916 and is one of three major new works being commissioned by IMMA that reflects on the legacy of the commemoration of the Irish State.

The Humanizer is presented as part of an exciting on-going initiative, New Art at IMMA, proudly supported by Matheson, which allows IMMA to continue to support artists’ vital work in a strand of programming that recognises and nurtures new and emerging talents, new thinking and new forms of exhibition-making.

Simon Fujiwara (born London, 1982) lives and works in Berlin. He studied Architecture at Cambridge University from 2002 to 2005, and then Fine Art at the Städelschule Hochschule fur Bildende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main from 2006 to 2008. He has participated in several recent biennials including the Venice Biennale, 2009; Manifesta 8 and São Paulo Biennial in 2010; Manchester International Festival, and Performa, New York, all 2011. His work has been presented at galleries around the world including The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, Tate St Ives, Pompidou Centre, Paris and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

Associated Events

Artist Discussion | Simon Fujiwara and Michael Lesslie
Fri 20 May, 1 – 2pm / Lecture Room / FREE
Artist Simon Fujiwara and renowned screenplay writer Michael Lesslie (Macbeth, 2015), explore processes of script writing, heroism and conventional Hollywood narratives, as it relates to the historical biography of Roger Casement. Moderated by Rachael Thomas, Senior Curator, Head of Exhibitions, IMMA. Book here

Curators Lunchtime Talks
Wed 1 June, 1.15 – 2pm / Meeting Point, Main Reception / FREE
Join Karen Sweeney, Exhibitions, IMMA for an insightful walk through of the exhibition. No booking required.