Katrina Maguire’s ‘Viewpoint’ comprised a number of video works and a series of paintings based on research collected in the Middle East.
Maguire has a longstanding relationship with the Middle East and has travelled to Bahrain for over fifteen years. ‘Viewpoint’ is a series of works that negotiate this relationship, between people and place, memory and tradition. Testimonies of personal and cultural memory of family and friends living in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were gathered. Three video portraits express views and experiences of living between two seemingly similar cultures and traditions. The interviews are candid and informative and enlightening offering a personal explanation of cultural traditions and contemporary living.
Two additional video works and a series of paintings depict this idyllic yet controlled environment.
Click here to read the Viewpoint essay by Sarah Greavu and here for the Viewpoint essay Separation and Restoration by Gill Addison
Prehen House, The Context Gallery, Derry, 2007
The LAB, Dublin, 2007
Three of the four videos feature Bahrain residents describing contemporary life in the Middle East. Each subject explains aspects of the culture and traditions of life on this tiny island and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The other videos and series of paintings depict this idyllic yet controlled environment.
The exhibition was accompanied by a gallery discussion,
‘Re Framing Viewpoints’ which featured Jason Oakley in conversation with Katrina Maguire (6 Oct, 2007).