THERE IS a French phrase, "L’heure entre chien et loup" which translates as "At that time in the day, you can't tell the difference between a dog and a wolf", and can refer to a difficulty in distinguishing between things.
However it has other meanings as well. It can refer to the twilight hour when myth and folklore say transformations can happen, ie, people can take risks; or when something is vague, unclear, or unknown; or when differences become hidden, telling things apart becomes difficult. The phrase has now inspired the title of a new group exhibition, Between Dog and Wolf, currently running in the Galway Arts Centre, and featuring work by Emma Finn, Hannah Fitz, Helen MacMahon, Nicos Nicolaou, Karen Roulstone, Anna Spearman, and Rory Tangney
The artists were asked to respond to the show title, and the resulting exhibition explores the theme of change and transformation in ‘Diorama’ a video piece by Galway born Emma Finn. One strand follows the story of a fisher looking for fur-bearing trout, while the other side recreates the fisher's event into a contemporary multimedia diorama.
In her work Finn uses moving images and narrative to transport viewers to uncomfortable places that sit between reality and invention. The show will also feature her piece, 'The Marks', which creates an interplay of two-dimensional drawing and three-dimensional material, and, through the combination of Hi-Fi and Lo-Fi techniques, to question perceptions and modes of reality.
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Of the other artists, Fitz predominantly works with sculpture and video; MacMahon is concerned with light, movement, perception, and space; Nicolaou uses a variety of materials and techniques in her drawings and sculpture; Roulstone explores how diverse light forms creates elusive and mysterious moments; Spearman creates sculptural objects; while Tangney [one of whose works for the Galway Arts Centre exhibition is included above] works in sculpture, drawing, photography, installation, and sound.
Between Dog and Wolf runs until March 4.
