Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Talbot Gallery
51 Talbot Street
Dublin 1
Group show curated by Elaine Grainger and Claire Halpin
For its Fast Moving Consumer Goods exhibition,Talbot Gallery has invited almost 40 artists to create new artwork using the stock of discount shops as a rich seam of inspiration. There are no restrictions on the form the artwork can take other than it must be predominantly constructed or made from items purchased from a discount shop. We asked artists to be as innovative as possible, to push the boundaries of their usual practice and explore the potential of the materials and media for their artwork. As this show is a reflection of the current climate, the pricing of the work will reflect this concept accordingly.
Ah, the two euro shops, eurogiant, eurogeneral, eurostretchers, bargains4u, eurobargains, euro2, poundcity, pricebusters, bargains for you for your euro, stretch your euro, apollo one, bargains galore, value4U, alphabargains, hector grey….We are all familiar with the ever ubiquitous discount shop filled to the brim, dealing in lines of fast moving consumer goods that can be had for an unbelievable minimum euros….bargola, knockdown prices and a cut of the high street price. How do they do it? As the recession erodes the consumers’ budget, suddenly ‘cheap’ does not necessarily mean ‘nasty’ and we find ourselves frequenting the discount stores more and more.
As a barometer of society, a cursory trip to ones local discount shop can reveal a lot about our culture and the times we live in – religious beliefs represented through bible key rings and nativity sets alongside resin buddhas, angels, dream catchers, rasta ashtrays and lucky cats. County and nationalist fervour represented through the GAA and football paraphernalia, the most popular baby names through the empty spaces of the Happy Birthday Sophie/ Chloe/ Adam/ Dean stand.
As you make your way through life,you may browse in different aisles of discount stores as each critical decision in life is reflected leading you to previously undicovered sections of the shop. The years pass and the sections slowly reveal themselves until you emerge in the medical aisle with the daily pill box in your hand and through your two euro reading glasses, see your life mapped out through Fast Moving Consumer Goods.
Invited Artists include: Angela Mc Donagh, Emmet Kierans, Felicity Clear, Aisling Conroy, Emma Hogan, Joby Hickey, Blath Ni Mhurchu, Bennie Reilly, Nicky Hooper, Deirdre Hayden, Anne Hendrick, Claire Mc Cluskey, Daria Privalko, Joe Stanley, Margaret O’Brien, Lucinda Jacobs, Julie Merriman, Michelle Considine, Claire Halpin, Jennette Donnelly, Beth O’Halloran, Louise Butler, Mary Noonan, Paul Mac Cormaic. Maree Hensey, Jane Fogarty, Andrew Carson, Cecilia Danell, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Cecilia Bullo, Jennifer Cunningham, Kate Murphy, Mary A. Fitzgerald, Ian-John Coughlan, Madeleine Hellier, Myra Jago & Kate Stitt.
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