July 6th - August 28th 2007
The Family Man - Joe Duggan
Limerick City Gallery of Art is delighted to present an exhibition of the work of London based, Limerick born photographer, Joe Duggan.
Joe Duggan constructs deceptive scenes of artificial lifestyles suggested by advertising, fashion shoots, media and film. In this exhibition the artist will explore male emotional expression and self-image, by addressing conflicting models of masculinity through presenting a hybrid of metrosexual man and the ultra masculine Rambo-style figure through a series of self-portraits.
The ‘like father; like son’ series shows us a constructed world inhabited by the artist and a boy mannequin. The idyllic scene is destroyed with the realisation that the child is a hollow plastic model. The visual image and the meaning it portrays is questioned.
In the ‘Family Series’ Duggan produces what appear, at first, to be contemporary utopias of family life. This vision of paradise is revealed to be a self enclosed synthetic diorama comprising of mannequins and artificial painted back drops. Duggan’s constructed ‘Family’ is devoid of life, apart from the solitary artist in his desolate, idealized fantasy world. His casual performance of himself underlines the shallow nature of the stereotypes presented.
EVENTS:
The exhibition will be opened by Rachael Thomas, Senior Curator: Head of Exhibitions, IMMA on Thursday July 5th at 6.00pm.
Joe Duggan in conversation with Pippa Little, curator Audience and Access, Limerick City Gallery of Art on Friday 6th July at 1pm.
Biographical Notes:
Joe Duggan was born in Limerick and currently lives and works in London. He studied Fine Art Photography at the Royal College of Art, London, and Visual Communications at The University of Central England, Birmingham. Recent exhibitions include "Failure" at Kilkenny Arts Festival 2006 and the International Fair of Contemporary Art in Turin.
