Irish artist Vivienne Dick is an internationally-celebrated film-maker and artist. Dick was a key figure within ‘No Wave’, a short-lived avant-garde scene in the late 1970s in New York led by a collective of musicians, filmmakers and artists including Nan Goldin, Lydia Lunch, Arto Lindsay, James Chance and many others. Dick has gone on to develop an extraordinary body of work which has been shown in cinemas, film festivals and art galleries around the world. Dick’s work is marked by an interest in urban street life, social and sexual politics, and the history of ideas.

93% STARDUST is a survey exhibition of Vivienne Dick’s work comprising selected films from the ‘No Wave’ period including Guérillère Talks (1978), Beauty Becomes The Beast (1979) and Liberty’s Booty (1980). Recent film works include The Irreducible Difference of the Other (2013) and Red Moon Rising (2015). Dick also premieres her new film work Augenblick made while on IMMA’s Residency Programme in 2017.

Nan Goldin and Vivienne Dick shared a period in New York where both artists began to make work which documented a short-lived, highly creative moment in downtown New York. Many of the subjects of Nan Goldin’s photographs appear in Dick’s films, and they clearly were an influence on one another. At IMMA, 93% STARDUST is presented alongside the solo exhibition Weekend Plans by Nan Goldin. Rachael Thomas, the curator of these two exhibitions at IMMA, states,

“These are historic exhibitions that bring together two pioneering artists that have shaped photography and film in a raw and real sense. By showing Nan Goldin and Vivienne Dick alongside each other, not only are we acknowledging their friendship but we are celebrating artists that have defined our understanding of life.”

The exhibition presents early Super 8 works from late 1970s New York in a brightly coloured pop inspired lounge environment, while her more recent and new works are shown in a more classic darkened cinema space. Also included in the exhibition is a space to relax in-between viewings with reading material which inspired her new film, film stills, an antique sofa – a prop from her new film, and a short film starring her cat Ginnie shown on a portable DVD player.

For Dick, the title of the exhibition 93% STARDUST, suggests that we are moving into a new age, following the age of Enlightenment, where man is no longer the centre of the universe.

Visitors are advised that this exhibition contains adult themes and explicit imagery that may not be suitable for all audiences. Please talk to a member of our Visitor Engagement team for more information.