Siúnta by Niamh Coffey – 20 Mar (Launch) to 1 May

Bagraíonn béal ocrach, teasctha romhainn, ag caitheamh buafa scaollmhara agus fiacla amach ar an urlár. Sciurdann créatúir bheaga, ghránna, spíceacha thar bráid, ag fágáil rian de sméara dubha súmhara, seileacha ina ndiaidh. Titeann dréimire anuas ón ghealach, braonáin bainne ina dhiaidh. Dhá ubh chomhcheangailte ag cogarnach le cheile agus tú ag dul thart. Meascann agus cónascann créatúir agus foirmeacha feola, fionnaidh, blátha agus cleite …
Is domhan aisteach claochlaitheach de bhéaloideas na hÉireann é ‘Siúnta’. Agus é ainmnithe as na focail Ghaeilge ‘síog’ nó ‘alt’, fíonn ‘Siúnta’ scéalta éagsúla le chéile i gcórais shamhlaithe éiceolaíochta atá neamh-ordlathach, neamhdhénártha. Meascann agus cónascann créatúir agus foirmeacha feola, fionnaidh, bláthanna agus cleite. Forbraíonn siad caidreamh siombóiseach, taispeánann siad gníomhartha coimhthíocha agus bunaíonn siad nósanna neoitéireacha le chéile. Léirítear iad seo trí theicstílí fíoracha dosach, colláise agus appliqué.
Rinneadh an taispeántas seo trí íomhánna meiteamorfacha agus doiléiriú dénártha idir dhaoine daonna agus daoine neamhdhaonna a bhailiú ó Chnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann. Ansin rinneadh na híomhánna seo a chur le chéile arís agus a chur le chéile i gcaidreamh éiceolaíochta nua-shamhlaithe.

A hungry and disembodied mouth looms, spitting frantic toads and teeth out onto the floor. Small and ugly spiked creatures scuttle past, leaving behind a trail of juicy, spit-frothy blackberries. A ladder tumbles down from the moon, droplets of milk following. Two conjoined eggs whisper as you pass by. Creatures and forms of flesh, fur, flower and feather mingle and merge…
Siúnta is a metamorphosing queer world of Irish folklore. Taking its name from the Irish for a seam or joint, Siúnta weaves together disparate narratives into imagined non-hierarchical, non-binary ecological systems. Subjects develop symbiotic relationships, exhibit unfamiliar actions and establish neoteric habits together. These are depicted through figurative tufted and textile mediums.
This exhibition was made by gathering imagery of metamorphosis and binary-blurring between humans and non-humans from the National Folklore Collection. These images were then re-assembled and collaged into new imagined ecological relationships.

Launch

  • Culturlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, 216 Falls Road Belfast BT12 6AH
  • 20/03/25
  • 7 – 9pm

The exhibition runs to 1 May 2025.

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New Belfast Community Arts Initiative trading as Community Arts Partnership is a registered charity (XR 36570) and a company limited by guarantee (Northern Ireland NI 37645).Registered with The Charity Commission as New Belfast Community Arts Initiative - NIC105169.