HOLD FAST: An Exhibition by Sean Hanrahan
Dates: 3rd – 13th June 2022
Times: 10am-3pm
Physically, the term Hold Fast means to bear down and fight through the storm, it also indicates a sailor’s career as a deckhand, by the tattoos on their hands of the same name.
As part of the Cork Harbour Festival and in collaboration with Backwater Artists Group, studio member Sean Hanrahan presents a body of work in two of the cells, of the former Punishment Block in Spike Island. The work reflects on the maritime theme of tattoos, which are perhaps one of the most recognisable visual forms, when we think of the culture of sailors. Tattoos are also very much part of prison culture. The exhibition will reference popular images of tattoos, such as the nautical star, anchor and swallows and explore the correlation between both cultures, in relation to this theme.
Images found here
About Sean Hanrahan
Sean Hanrahan is a multidisciplinary artist based in Cork city, working in print, photography, installation & collaborative practice. My studio practice is at Backwater Artists Studio’s where I am also a board member. I have been a member of Cork Printmakers for 15 years, where I have worked on several projects & exhibited internationally. Recent projects/exhibition – Artist in residence at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) where I produced a site-specific flag Project Memory Anthem for IMMA’s A Radical Plot residency program Aug-Oct ’21. Facebook Artist in Residence (AIR) program, where I produced a large-scale mural for their Cork Oculus laboratory offices. In 2018 I co-curated Aрка/Arch exhibition of Belarusian graphic work with Belarusian Artist Roman Sustov, Studio 12 Backwater Artists, Cork IRE. HALFTONE 16,17,18, 20, 21 The Library Project, Dublin IRE. The 188th RHA open submission exhibition, Dublin IRE. Solo exhibition Night Frightens the Day/Калі ноч палохае дзень VCCA (Centre for Contemporary and Modern Art) Minsk, Belarus. Over the Sun (Kazimir Malevich’s influence on western Artists) Initiated and curated by Sean Hanrahan. Participating artists Sean Hanrahan IRE Dominic Fee IRE and Josh Dannin USA, Vitebsk Gallery of Modern Art (V.C.C.A ) Vitebsk, Belarus.
About Spike Island
Spike Island, located in Cork Harbour, offers unique art venues within the prestigious heritage buildings whose history spans almost two centuries.
Dorota Gubbins is a curator at Spike Island with the main interest in heritage and arts. She organises and facilitates exhibitions, events, and visual performances.