Laura Ní Fhlaibhín: Róisín, silver, rockie

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22 January – 22 February 2020

PALFREY is thrilled to present Róisín, silver, rockie,the first London solo show by Laura Ní Fhlaibhín. Sifting stories, materials and traces associated with site, memory, myth, narratives of care and the casting of spells, Ní Fhlaibhín creates complex but pithy material scenarios. These may incorporate condensed sculptural images, mineral deposits, instructional texts and formal gatherings of elements that serve also as ritual artefacts. Ní Fhlaibhín’s work blends myth, personal recollection and oral histories. It frequently implies the key category of care – of both self and others, humans and animals, objects and materials. This is central to her project for PALFREY. The exhibition takes as its point of departure the nurturing relationship that develops between her cousin Róisín, a teenager with autism, and Róisín’s horse, Rockie. As traced across species here, care is both represented and inscribed in the material and narrative improvisations that are interwoven in the project.

Curated by John Chilver

OPENING Wednesday 22 January 2020, 6 – 8 pm

Laura Ní Fhlaibhín completed her MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2019 and her BA at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2013. Recent exhibitions have included Caol Áit, Burren College of Art, Ireland, 2019; Deptford X, London, 2018; Tulca Festival of Visual Arts, Galway, 2018; Water jets were used on the four corners of the building, Newington Art Space, London, 2018; a speech that showed the chair in the middle, Enclave, London, 2018; Dodecagon, Space Union, Seoul, 2017; Lamellae, The Lab, Dublin, 2016. She is the current recipient of Goldsmiths MFA Graduate Almacantar Studio Bursary Award, and Burren College of Art Emerging Irish Artist Residency award.

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Installation view
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Róisín silver flips, 2020
lenticular print from phone footage taken during Róisín’s horse therapy ses-
sions with Silver the horse, stainless steel curved plate.
10 x 15 cm
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Spirited rail (detail), 2020
stainless steel, charred horse reins, wheels
200 x 200 cm
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Installation view
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Spirited gathering, 2020
plaited horse hair from spring trims at Ebony Horse Club, Brixton and Cool- greaney Equestrian,Wexford, and ‘Rockie’s baby red horse licks’, and stainless steel curved round bar, and striated glass, and jesmonite and graphite eggs, and my grandmother’s dessert bowl, and stainless steel and charred horse reins and plastic.
Dimensions variable
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Spirited gathering (detail), 2020
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Spirited gathering (detail), 2020


Photography: Damian Griffiths

© PALFREY 2021