A great teacher once told me that Irony was the ‘laughter of the Gods’, I never forgot it and since then have claimed it as my own. It’s like Murphy’s Law or as Alanis Morissette says its like ‘winning the lotto and dying the next day!’ Or maybe, like the old fine art establishment dismissing ‘textile art’ while every painting in their establishments was painted on canvas! It’s ironic but maybe not so funny. I am an artist, who happens to use textiles, mainly for their narrative but also for their symbolism and meaning. People like textiles, they can relate to them and have an affinity with them and visitor numbers are always a concern at galleries.

Having a fairly good sense of humour myself, I would say it is one of my coping mechanisms and the foundation of my relationship with God. I will laugh when I probably should cry and frequently you will see me glance towards the heavens, in that ‘Really!? you want me to deal with this NOW!? sort of way. We have this sort of game of ‘truth or dare’ going on – I will be given yet another challenge and as a consequence will have to face my own truth. This feeds my work and a necessary part of the process of my studio practice. My desire is that my work will draw attention to the overlooked and thus encourage people to question more. Perhaps, it might encourage individuals and organisations to reflect more and notice the irony of their situations.

Anyway, I like my maternal grandmother’s take on irony “The day you think you’re alright is the day you’re all wrong’.

 

3arts mixed media Úna Curley 2018  [photo Mari Kelly]

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