Artist
Niamh Barry
Niamh Barry (b.1998) is a self-taught photographer, videographer, and creative director based in Dublin, Ireland. She attempts to magnify queer Irish identities through portraiture and documentary photography; her work conveys intimate moments and emotions in a country marked by the rigid sexual mores of Catholicism. Challenging traditional notions of Irish femininity, masculinity and sexuality, works such as Queer Hearts of Dublin, No Queer Apologies and Now and Forever, Interpersonally Queer encourage spectators to connect with her subjects as both individuals and as community. Collaborating extensively with fellow queer Irish artists, her work is simultaneously a call for solidarity and a call to action.
Website: niamh-barry.com
Instagram: narryphotographyvids
Now & Forever, Interpersonally Queer
Queer or not, we perceive ourselves as sovereign individuals, invariably at the centre of our own universes. In the context of queerness, we all live our lives as queer people in this small city, and universes soon converge; we become characters in the personal travails of others, providing a source of sub-plots, relief, and narrative dynamism.
The queer community is only a fraction of the global population, leading to interlocking pathways generating chains of mutual association that spread out, like telephone wires, to connect us all. This phenomenon has been referred to as 'six degrees of separation', a theory that people are only ever six or fewer social connections from one another. Queer individuals are often rejected by their peers, family, and society. As such, rejection encourages us to find comfort in queer relationships, and to seek our communal solidarity in a collective state of rejection. Accumulated traumas solidify our sense of community.
Now & Forever, Interpersonally Queer attempts to display the beautiful nature of these interpersonal ties. Some are powerful; the bonds we have with other queers offer us a novel sense of acceptance. Accordingly, the sociological notion of the ‘chosen queer family’ – which has existed for decades – attempts to deconstruct perceptions of what a ‘family unit’ can be. The project aims to confound heteronormative structures, rebuild them and render them queer. Where race, geography and social isolation can prevent a queer individual from integrating into the community, I hope these photographs are inclusive of some viewers’ experiences – but I humbly acknowledge where they fall short.
Using traditional and sustainable photographic printing techniques, Aindreas Scholz highlights issues of the climate crisis, focusing particularly on the effects of human activity. In The Vanishing Point, for instance, Scholz addresses plants that risk vanishing from extinction by experimenting with unfixed lumen prints. His practice is informed by historical and legendary texts and tales, and by referring to these narratives, he weaves engaging storytelling into visually enticing pieces.
Recent graduate Emilia Rigaud presents her ongoing work Fluid. Her at times ghostly and otherworldly creations serve as a sensitive visual account of her investigation into ‘hydrofeminism’ and our connection to water. Alluding to environmental concerns, Rigaud underlines that caring for water is caring for us. Her visual style presents work that occupies a dimension between the seemingly mythical, editorial, and at times documentary traditions too.
Making work inspired by highly personal circumstances, Phelim Hoey and Ryan Allen both address experiences relating to multiple sclerosis (MS), albeit adopting different approaches. Phelim Hoey – whom PhotoIreland has followed excitedly since his nomination to its triennial talent programme in 2019 – investigates the condition from direct experience, utilising multidisciplinary methods to expose the precariousness and unpredictability of his own body, reclaiming control and confidence over himself in the process.
Ryan Allen, meanwhile, is a new graduate, selected for PhotoIreland’s 2022 RADAR Graduate Residency. There is a lot of potential and determination in Allen’s work, and we feel he represents a movement towards the personal with a compassionate and empathetic tone. In his selected project, FathoM, Allen provides a visual response to his fears over the body’s transience, having witnessed the process of MS in his mother.
Also on the path of care, Niamh Barry is a photographer engaging with queer communities in Ireland through her personal projects in a warm and tender manner. We were first introduced to Barry’s work through No Queer Apologies – a project tinged with gentleness while also calling for solidarity and action – and it immediately captivated our attention. Her latest project, brought to FUTURES, Now and Forever, Interpersonally Queer, presents tender images which highlight the chosen families that are so important within the queer community.