GALWAY EXHIBITION

alway Arts Centre / Galway Arts Festival 16 July – 11 August 2007

Galway Arts Centre and Galway Arts Festival present a solo exhibition
by Sean Lynch.

Using his practice as a platform against the cultural amnesia that
surround his topics, Lynch advocates a kind of activism towards
history, where the artist discloses and builds upon fragile stories and
objects, magnifying traces of their often-idiosyncratic existence.
Lynch brings the forgotten and incidental to the centre stage, shining
a spotlight on a wide variety of subjects.

Marking a moment in the artist's ongoing investigations into and
recovery of overlooked cultural artefacts, Lynch presents a new
project, on the island of Hy-Brazil. Lying in the expanse of the
Atlantic Ocean, it was last seen by author TJ Westropp in 1872.
Seemingly recalling Joseph Beuys' 1965 seminal work, How to Explain
Pictures to a Dead Hare, Lynch's presentation seemingly suggests that
the island is still to be found, by both man and fish alike.

Lynch will also presents research relating to public reaction to
sculpture in Galway City, detailing a history that includes Cromwell's
troops attacking the Lynch window at Saint Nicholas' Cathedral in the
1650s century, to the decapitation of Albert Power's statue of Padraic
O Conaire in 1999.

With a focus on peddling stories and propagating further tales,
additional presentations will feature Flann O'Brien and his book The
Third Policeman, a vandalized statue of Bill Clinton and alleged
supernatural trees in County Clare.

This exhibition has been made possible through a New Work Award from
the Arts Council, along with the kind support of the Zoology
department, NUI Galway. A publication about Hy-Brazil will produced to
accompany the exhibition. It will feature the artists' extensive
research, and an interview between Matt Packer of the Lewis Glucksman
Gallery, Cork and Sean Lynch.

Sean Lynch was born in Kerry in 1978, and now lives and works in
Frankfurt. He has studied fine art at the Stadelschule in Frankfurt and
history at the University of Limerick. He has held solo exhibitions in
recent times at Limerick City Gallery of Art and Ritter & Staiff,
Frankfurt, and group exhibitions at Oeen Group, Copenhagen, and
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan. He is currently exhibiting in
group exhibitions at CAP House, Kobe, Japan, and the Lewis Glucksman
Gallery, Cork.

EVENTS:

Sean Lynch will conduct a public tour on 18 July at 6pm. Official
opening at 7pm

Sean Lynch will present a lecture on how to find Hy-Brazil, on
Saturday, 21 July at 1pm.

Eddie Lenihan Folklorist and Storyteller, will tell stories on
Saturday 28 July at 2pm.