Documentary Photography Students And Grads Success In New Irish Works Competition

Selected by an international panel of 23 professionals, New Irish Works includes a selection of 20 projects and 20 photographers representing the diverse range of practices coming from Ireland. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

New Irish Works 2016 is a year-long project of 10 presentations and 20 publications that aims to highlight the great moment Irish Photography is experiencing. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

This year, a large number of recipients of the competition are students or graduates of the BA Documentary Photography at USW. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

USW students selected for the prestigious competition include Kate Nolan, Daragh Soden, David Thomas Smith, Shane Lynam and Noel Bowler. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Every month from July 2016 to July 2017, a special presentation will be hosted at The Library Project for two of the selected artists at a time. The presentation will include a display and a publication for each artist’s project. The two artists that will be presented during PhotoIreland Festival are Daragh Soden (Young Dubliners) and Mandy O’Neill (Promise). Daragh’s work has seen great acclaim recently, also being awarded a Breakthrough award honour for USW graduates. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

PhotoIreland will bring New Irish Works abroad at key events like PhotoEspaña, with the support of the Embassy of Ireland in Madrid, and to Paris during Paris Photo, with the support of the Centre Culturel Irlandais. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“This is just another example of fantastic work by our students and graduates of Documentary Photography” commented David Barnes, senior lecturer in Documentary Photography, which will be based at the University’s Cardiff campus from September. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The work our students and graduates produce is of international appeal and we pride ourselves on preparing our students to be international artists, which opens up even more opportunities to them in the future”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Image featured is by Kate Nolan: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“LACUNA- The small village of Pettigo straddles the border between Donegal and Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and the Republic. The border is marked by the River Termon flowing through the centre of town. Two bridges allow you to cross from North to South and at some points you can just step across and not even realise you have entered another country. My expectations of what a border town would be, with heightened tension and strong divides, were invisible to me. As I looked at the land and its people, I couldn’t tell where the real divisions lay. Following the river, I questioned the artificial construct of a border imposed upon nature. What is this physical space? A lacuna, a cavity in understanding. A landless land.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​