Lucy McKenna’s exhibition in Cabra Library explores High Strangeness, ideas and stories at the edge of our understanding of the universe. The artist is particularly interested in the phenomenon of magical lights appearing in the Irish landscape, as documented by children from 1937 to 1939 in the National Folklore Collection, UCD. The stories were collected by children from adults in their locality; some are first-hand witness accounts while others are stories passed along from others, spanning many generations.
The artist uses these stories as an entry point into thinking about magic, science, and our place in the universe. The stories’ beauty is in the descriptions of, the respect for, and the holding of belief in the otherworldly, as well as the role of children as the primary investigators, gatherers and passers-on of these phenomenal lived-experiences for the future generations of Ireland. In capturing the stories, the children were open-minded, unbiased and uncynical, curious and interested. These accounts are part detective work and part documentation.
High Strangeness places today’s children in the position of children of the 1930s—giving them a doorway to think critically, to investigate the works using active ‘looking’ to draw their own conclusions. This exhibition also includes drawings based on photos from the Hubble telescope, near-Earth objects and asteroids. There are sculptures of mysterious objects that may or may not be from Earth, fragments of objects mentioned in the stories, bound together by magical forces. A sense of intrigue surrounds the strange lettering on the exhibition space’s wall: a message in a code yet to be deciphered, seemingly pulled by an unseen energy force in the room.
High Strangeness is accompanied by a new poem by Enda Wyley.
From April to mid-June 2024, IMMA’s Visitor Engagement Team will facilitate art workshops in Cabra Library for primary school classes. Scroll down to Cabra Library section below for contact details regarding availability.