TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
‘Ireland’s Eye’: Bridging distant shores through art
This year’s exhibition features eight works by six Irish artists: Aaron Sunderland Carey, Electronic Sheep (Brenda Aherne and Helen Delany), Isobel McCarthy, Mary Sullivan and Olivia Normile.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Printed by sunlight: A visitor reads the captions accompanying Isobel McCarthy’s 2024 cyanotype artworks, The Fox and The Falcon (left) and The Big Big Movie (right). McCarthy’s work blends nostalgia with quiet intrigue, using animals as deeply symbolic figures to explore personal and domestic narratives. (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
W
hat connects the rugged landscapes of Ireland with the vast archipelago of Indonesia? At first glance, the two nations seem worlds apart, but the Ireland’s Eye exhibition suggests otherwise. Through contemporary artworks, it explores unexpected parallels in artistic traditions, cultural expressions and shared human experiences.
Now in its fourth edition, Ireland’s Eye has been bringing Irish art to Indonesia since 2022, traveling through Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. Organized by ISA Art and Design in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland and PT Jakarta Land, the exhibition has become a bridge between the two countries, fostering artistic appreciation.
At the exhibition’s opening on March 17 at the World Trade Center (WTC) 2 in Jakarta, Ireland’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN, Pádraig Francis, highlighted the event’s role in fostering cultural connections.
“This exhibition is an opportunity for people to learn about Ireland, but also to discover what connects Ireland and Indonesia,” he said. “Both countries have strong artistic traditions, yet because of the geographical distance, we do not know each other as well as we should.”
This year’s exhibition features eight works by six Irish artists: Aaron Sunderland Carey, Electronic Sheep (Brenda Aherne and Helen Delany), Isobel McCarthy, Mary Sullivan and Olivia Normile. Their works, curated by artist and lecturer Mark Joyce from Dublin’s Institute of Art, Design + Technology (IADT), examine the balance between tradition and modernity, as well as contemporary life in Ireland.
“Art is about storytelling,” said Deborah Carr Iskandar, founder and director of ISA Art and Design. “And each artist presents a different perspective on life in Ireland.”
Marginalized community in Ballymun (Aaron Sunderland Carey)
