Exhibition

A tourist photographs a 'pony kid', Smithfield Market, Dublin - from the series 'The Fifth Province' | Tadhg Devlin

The Fifth Province | Tadhg Devlin

August 3rd - September 3rd 2006

The Fifth Province is a study of contemporary Ireland through the eyes of the returned emigrant. It portrays a country full of contradictions, an Ireland still in thrall to its nationalist past while it careers towards its European future, its dreams forged in an American imagination.

Ireland is made up of four provinces; the fifth is wherever the Irish diaspora resides. With 70 million people of Irish descent throughout the world the notion of 'home' is invested with complex emotions, with repercussions both for those who left, and for those who stayed. There is a big difference between the myth and the reality of 'home'. As the artist says: "I moved over to the UK in 1993, before the IRA ceasefire and before the term 'Celtic Tiger' had been invented. The country has changed dramatically. The boom of the 1990s has brought about a radical shift in values and a new confidence has emerged among the next generation. And since leaving, my own identity and views have changed: this country is becoming more and more alien to the place I grew up in."

Comprising over thirty colour photographs, The Fifth Province figures 'Ireland' as a place open to interpretation, layered with myths, convenient fictions and unacknowledged realities.

About the artist: Born in Dublin in 1971, Tadhg Devlin left Ireland in 1993 to study photography in Cornwall, UK. After completing his studies he was offered a place at Magnum Photos in London where he worked with a number of photographers, including Magnum president Chris Steele-Perkins. Since leaving Magnum, Devlin has remained in London as a freelance photographer and his work has appeared in many publications. He has also been working for housing support groups and has recently set up photography workshops in the pupil referral units of schools in London. He has been working on 'The Fifth Province' since 2001. It was awarded a Development Bursary by the Gallery of Photography in 2005 and was recently awarded a bursary from the Irish Arts Council.

The Fifth Province is presented in association with Siamsa Tire Theatre and Arts Centre.

Private View: Wednesday August 2nd at 6.30pm. The exhibition will be opened by Ciaran Walsh, Exhibitions Director, Siamsa Tire Theatre & Arts Centre. The artist will be present.

For further information, press scans, or to arrange to interview the artist, contact: Daniel Scully, Gallery of Photography: 01-6714654 | info@galleryofphotography.ie

Exhibition continues until September 3rd, 2006. Admission free.