Niamh NicGhabhann finds that central to Emma Roche’s recent painting is a concern for the stress of assembly-line work
Syringes, knitting needles, piping bags, graph paper, pencils, metal grids – these are the tools used by Emma Roche. At first glance, this is a strange kit bag for a painter, with no sign of the easel or palette that traditionally signify the profession. However, Roche uses this equipment to forge a painterly language that is equal to the subjects she wants to explore and that tests and stretches the very nature of her medium. Roche’s most recent paintings pick up some of her previous thematic concerns – the work of caring and domestic labour. They were made during the pandemic lockdowns, when the sense of the world becoming smaller and more interior meant that Roche felt that she was ‘never going to have to explain’ the work. This allowed her to make what she describes as ‘quick, personal images’.
Joseph McBrinn charts the history of Evie Hone’s Tullabeg windows, which illustrate scenes from the life of Christ
Brian Fallon remembers a modest exhibition that began a love affair with the work of Harry Kernof
Síghle Bhreathnach-Lynch remembers a leading member of the Celtic Revival, artist Mia Cranwill
