Tactic, Sullivans Quay, Cork.
Preview 8/8 – 7pm
Exhibition 9/8 – 22/8
Gallery hours Tues-Sat 12-3.
The Lads are a combination of hand crafted, manipulated and procured objects. As participant sculptures, they fuse the ridiculous with the rigidly functional, allowing for the development of barely justifiably logical constructs. Conversing amongst themselves, they devise abstract leisure pursuits.
The Lads are re-evaluating ideas surrounding what it means to participate and engage in their play space. This is achieved through sorting leisure pursuits into a collection of elements such as pride, fair play, and reward. These individual components then collide until a new form of play ensues.
O’Brien is the facilitator, providing a springboard for new and potential variables. His working process is about oppositions, using sensical methods to develop nonsensibles. He projects the serious onto the absurd and then turns it on its head. In doing this, he embraces the teetering instant, the restrained smirk. It is of utmost importance to O’Brien to take not being serious as serious as possible. Players can try to ignore the game but they cannot. Within the parameters of the installation, The Lads state the rules of play.
Oisín O’Brien graduated from NCAD in 2010 from Fine Art: Painting. Recent group shows include; The Founding Phant, Ormston House, Limerick, Presentation, Pantocrator Gallery, Barcelona, Jockeyism, Block T, Dublin, A Vendre, Marseilles. O’Brien has undertaken residencies at Basic Space Press, IMMA, Dublin and La Pan Stage in Barcelona.