BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.12//EN TZID:Europe/Dublin X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/Dublin BEGIN:VEVENT UID:440@visualartists.ie DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Dublin:20250920T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Dublin:20251003T170000 DTSTAMP:20251003T090417Z URL:https://visualartists.ie/events/residues-of-the-garden-of-eden-joanne- reid-and-ben-weir-at-the-complex SUMMARY:Residues of The Garden of Eden | Joanne Reid and Ben Weir at The Co mplex DESCRIPTION:Location: The Gallery at The Complex\, 21 Arran Street East\, D ublin 7\, D07YY97\nPreview: 19 Sept\, 6-8 pm\nExhibition Run: 20 Sept - 3 Oct\nHours: 10am-5pm Mon-Fri\, 12-5pm Sat\nTickets: Free entry\, no bookin g required\n\nResidues of The Garden of Eden at The Complex brings togethe r the work of Joanne Reid and Ben Weir\, curated by Mark O’Gorman and De bi Paul. Mark and Debi have been working closely on the exhibition since t hey proposed the collaboration in 2022\, whereupon the artists became boun d through their instinctive conversations. As it progressed\, the contrast in scale between the artist’s work\, along with a shared sensitivity an d a refined sculptural language\, through the use of industrial materials such as steel\, wood\, and concrete\, made the connection apparent.\n\nA c entral point of dialogue that emerged between the artists in relation to T he Complex site and its surrounding environment gravitated towards a focal point that was the Garden of Eden – not only the biblical paradise desc ribed in the Book of Genesis\, but also the (later inspired) formal walled gardens of aristocratic estates. The Garden of Eden has acted as a centra l node from which other enquiries branched out\, among them the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market\, currently under renovation and adjacent to Th e Complex in Smithfield\, with its richly ornate terracotta castings of lo bsters\, turnips\, and other produce\, sequenced uniformly across its exte rior. It also embraced the materials and packaging methods used daily by t he vendors with their cardboard boxes filled with vegetables\, arranged on the roadside\, stacked on pallets and wrapped in plastic\, displaying an unintentional harmony of form\, colour\, and gesture.\n\nAs conversations between the artists and curators developed\, the concept of the wall in re lation to the garden became foundational\, raising the notion of designed boundaries that interrogate tensions between inside and outside\, wild and tamed\, safety and danger\, class structures\, and the demarcation of lan d and communities. The artist's research led them to another local site of discovery\, St. Mary's Abbey\, founded in 1139 and once one of the larges t and most significant medieval monasteries in Ireland. Ben came across a map illustrating the historic parish boundary of St. Mary’s and revealed that whilst the Abbey ceased to function as such after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1541\, the area north of the Liffey continued to be se rved by St. Michan’s. It was not until 1698 that St. Mary’s parish was formally established\, separating it from St. Michan’s\, the boundary o f which appears to cut diagonally through the exhibition space at The Comp lex\, creating yet another layer of spatial and historical division which will inform Ben’s installation.\n\nAccording to Joanne’s research\, it was rumoured that an Abbot once covered the leaf mouldings on the ceiling of the Abbey’s Chapter House to prevent the monks working there from be coming distracted\, or ultimately seduced by the beauty of nature. This de tail resonates with discussions around walled gardens\, the Garden of Eden \, and the idea of temptation. Joanne references Albrecht Dürer’s Adam and Eve as a key image in her research\, in which the biblical figures are shown with fig leaves covering their genitals\, symbolising their poignan t shame\; and at the same time\, the branch depicted possesses a certain d elicacy. From the fig leaf to the reverent cauliflower leaf\, and how it i s trimmed for wholesale distribution\, to the leaf patterns found on recen tly unearthed medieval tiles from St Mary’s Abbey\, the leaf continues t o be a unifying motif in Joanne’s work for the exhibition.\n\nAs the exh ibition approaches\, playful conversations and formative site visits have taken place at locations such as The Wonderful Barn\, Fire Station Artists ’ Studios\, the Leixlip Spa\, St. Mary’s Abbey\, Chapter House and var ious construction/archaeological sites surrounding The Complex. Boundary w alls were scaled or peeked over as they encouraged each other to discover. Residues from different periods of the Gallery site’s history prolifera te through their conversations\, calling to attention other sites of inter est and moments in art history. These outings have informed a flourishing dialogue and a relationship between the artists and curators\, laying line s between and marking out in increments their thoughts and speculations. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://visualartists.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025 /08/Untitled-1080-x-1000-px-900-x-1080-px-1500-x-800-px-1.jpg CATEGORIES:Exhibition,Leinster - Dublin LOCATION:The Gallery @ The Complex\, 21 - 25 Arran St E\, Smithfield\, Dubl in 7\, Dublin\, D07 YY97\, Ireland GEO:53.347498;-6.270176 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=21 - 25 Arran St E\, Smithf ield\, Dublin 7\, Dublin\, D07 YY97\, Ireland;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=T he Gallery @ The Complex:geo:53.347498,-6.270176 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Dublin X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Dublin BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250330T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:IST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR