Rites of Care, Curse & Comfort
Rites of Care, Curse & Comfort
July 13 @ 11:00 am – October 19 @ 5:00 pm IST
Rites of Care, Curse & Comfort is an exhibition featuring the work of visual artist Thaís Muniz. The exhibition features a selection of new, recreated and past works that engage transgenerational trauma, manifestations of racism, the objectification of womanhood by the male gaze, and the erasure of ancestral knowledge systems. The exhibition runs from 3 July – 19 October, Wednesday – Saturday, 11am-5pm at the Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, County Cork.
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Artists
Thaís Muniz, visual artist
Full Event Details
This exhibition features a selection of new, recreated and past works that engage transgenerational trauma, manifestations of racism, the objectification of womanhood by the male gaze, and the erasure of ancestral knowledge systems. A key motif is an inverted triangle, which Muniz puts forward as a visualisation of the transatlantic trade of enslaved people – representing Europe, West Africa and the Americas – as well as her own autobiography, in terms of her Brazilian origins, African ancestry and Irish citizenship. The circle is another recurrent motif, and represents ori – referring to spiritual intuition and destiny among the Yoruba, a West African ethnic group with whom Muniz self-identifies. The exhibition demonstrates Muniz’s interest in the long-lasting impacts, both material or psychological, of colonialism on racialised communities.
Central to the exhibition is New Atlantic Triangulations Flag (2022), consisting of triangular and circular shapes printed on hanging fabric pieces. The work formally mimics a traditional national flag, but the designed emblem is intended to represent motion, whether metaphorically linking dispersed populations or referring specifically to the movements of persons undermining borders. Muniz blends references to Yoruban, Brazilian or Irish histories and mythology, for instance, the Celtic legend of the island of Hy-Brasil or the ancient alphabet known as Ogham, to meditate on her hybrid cultural identity. In the print Ori Axe Ogham (2024), ori evokes her African heritage; axe is the Brazillian word for ori; and Ogham is an ancient Irish alphabet. Muniz uses the slanted dashes of Ogham typography to spell out the words ‘axe’ and ‘ori’. The abstract geometric diagram can be understood as both an illustration of the movement of the artist’s body and a mapping of dispersed populations.
This exhibition is produced by SIRIUS and curated by Miguel Amado, Director, with production support provided by Cork Printmakers.
Artist Biographies:
Thaís Muniz is a Brazilian Irish artist with African heritage, based in Dublin. She examines representations of ‘otherness’ through ideas of blackness, displacement and memory in a postcolonial context, and explores embodied and experiential art-making processes and outcomes. Her prints, collages, textile pieces, and performances combine archival materials and personal memorabilia, storytelling and symbology.
Sirius Arts Centre
Sirius Arts Centre is a multi-disciplinary arts organisation in the Cobh-Glanmire municipal district of east Cork. It is housed in a beautiful Italiante building that was designed by Anthony Salvin in 1854 to house the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest in the world. Salvin was best known for his restoration work on Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. This is the only example of Salvin’s work in Ireland.
For thirty-one years the building has housed the Sirius Arts Centre; an organisation that is dedicated to the facilitation and development of artistic expression on a local, national and international stage. This is the only organisation of its kind in the east Cork area.
Sirius is an arts centre that serves as an intermediary between art and the public that endeavours to raise public awareness of art. It offers developing opportunities for both emerging and more established artists from both Ireland and abroad. The programme is dedicated to the facilitation and development of artistic expression, with additional community programming that encourages exploration through direct participation in the arts.
This is achieved through a mix of activities including: visual arts programming and exhibitions, an international artist in residence programme, music performances, community arts programmes and workshops, all of which bring people to east Cork. The Sirius Arts Centre building provides the organisation with a unique environment and gives continuing life to a heritage building of architectural and historical importance in Cobh.
Organisations Involved / Partner Organisation(s):
