Displaced Privilege, a solo show by Miriam McConnon

Displaced Privilege, a solo show by Miriam McConnon, 23 May - 10 July 2021, Olivier Cornet Gallery

23 May - 10 July 2021

Solo show


Launch of the show: 

- On line in our 3D Virtual Space, Sunday 23 May 2021, 12 noon. 
- A live stream with the artist took place at 6pm on that day, simultaneously on Facebook (recording starts at 0:30) and Youtube (recording starts at 6:20).

- At the gallery and in presence of the artist:
Friday 11 June: 5:30pm-7:30pm
Saturday 12 June: 2pm-5pm
Sunday 13 June: 2pm-5pm
Please book a time that suits you by calling/texting or emailing us.

Availability of the show:  

- Online in our 3D Virtual Space from Sunday 23 May 2021. 

- Tuesdays to Sundays at the gallery from 11 June to 10 July (please book a time).

The Olivier Cornet Gallery is delighted to present this solo show by gallery artist Miriam McConnon

Displaced Privilege

As a visual artist, Miriam McConnon works with families who have been recently or in the past been displaced because of war. Her work in concerned with excavating the personal experience of displacement from the collective stories.  

In this new series of work, she looks at the opposing narratives of the refugee and the non-refugee. The work incorporates personal objects from the refugee’s migratory journey. These visual testimonies expose a commonality between the current global restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and the constant reality for those displaced by conflict.

In the ‘No More Time’ series, McConnon integrates elements of childhood with imagery from the narrative of war. She presents an empty school desk in front of a blackboard covered in a Syrian child’s drawing of home, a wall of redundant vanity cases and rows of stacked red school chairs. Another painting portrays oversized Lego bricks scattered in a bombed-out building. This series exposes the role that privilege plays in the global pandemic, acknowledging the contrast between the interruption of childhood due to the covid pandemic and the loss of childhood due to war. 

The repetition of the tales of conflict and displacement throughout history leaves the personal narrative endangered. McConnon relates Cypriot and Syrian stories of displacement in her paintings, depicting these similar narratives that were decades apart through patterns of traditional weave and lace. 

Through installation and painting, McConnon employs objects to construct new objects, reimagining them as objects anchored to ideas of conflict and home. By altering the identity of an object in her work, McConnon aims to alter perceptions. Passports become tents in a refugee camp, the ammunition from a child’s toy gun become flowers, an infant bracelet takes on the form of a tank and envelopes become homes. The envelope is an object that easily crosses borders. In the installation ‘Envelope Homes, the artist makes the envelope a settled entity and a symbol of home. During the pandemic, our homes became our safe houses and our quarantine. But for a large population of the world, the idea of a safe place to call home is non-existent.

This exhibition serves as a reminder that the freedom of movement, access to medicine and education are indeed a privilege. 

Coverage:

- Irish Arts Review Magazine, Art Exhibitions calendar, Spring issue 2021:
"Miriam McConnon’s exhibition ‘Displaced Privilege’ at the Olivier Cornet Gallery incorporates refugees’ personal objects used on their migratory journeys. Through painting and installation works, McConnon draws parallels between the current pandemic restrictions of movement and the constant reality of this for those displaced by conflict".

- Displaced Privilege, the artist presents her work in a film by Sylvia Nicolaides

- 'An Art Exhibition Highlights the Privileges Many Enjoy Even Under Lockdown', Laoise Neylon, Culture Desk, Dublin InQuirer, 19 May 2021

- Exhibition Events Calendar, 'The top arts exhibitions currently being staged around the country', Ros Drinkwater, Business Post, 13 June 2021

- 'Artistic License: Miriam McConnon', Penny McCormick, The Gloss, 23 June 2021

- 'Η Ιρλανδή εικαστικός που αγάπησε την Πάφο', Dora Christodoulou, Phileleftheros Newspaper, Cyprus, 2 July 2021
(also published on Paphosnet.com)

- While the exhibition was on, Le Monde Diplomatique selected, 'The Tailor' -an earlier work by the artist-  to accompany an article about Ireland in their July 2021 issue. 

- Rows of Passport Tents, a painting belonging to the same series of works was reviewed by curatorial intern Mary Rose Porter in October 2022.

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