Artist
Ryan Allen
Ryan Allen (b. 1992) is a visual artist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Much of his work responds to unnoticed characteristics produced by past experiences. Allen holds a BA in Photography with Video from Ulster University, from where he graduated in July 2022. He has recently concluded a course in International Studies at Budapest’s Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. The artist was one of five recipients of the inaugural RADAR Research and Development Artist Residency for PhotoIreland.
Website: ryanallenphoto.myportfolio.com
Instagram: ryanbenjaminallen
FathoM
My mother had multiple sclerosis from before I was born. I never knew any different, other than knowing her as a sick person and my father as her carer. My father had to function as two parents to my brother and I, with an unquantifiable impact on our experience of growing up into men.
FathoM is a visual diary, exploring my fear of transience in response to witnessing the body’s vulnerability. The slow deterioration caused by the illness produced an acute awareness in me of how fragile we are: it’s like I’m waiting for the past to repeat itself.
In my project, I gradually began to piece together intuitive imagery that materialised a sense of loss, and a malaise about the body. By recollecting family experiences through the camera, I contemplate the mystery of my lost relationship with my mother. I remember the beauty and fear in the undervalued work of caring that my father carried out with strength and devotion.
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.