Cork exhibition encourages adults and children to think about what 'home' means to them

A lively bunch of children threw foam blocks covered with colourful, printed polyester around the gallery space where artist Chris Finnegan is showing his work as part of The Grammar of Home exhibition.

Presented by Sample Studios, it’s at the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion in Fitzgerald’s Park and features the work of three artists, curated by Susan Holland.

At the recent opening of the exhibition on a Saturday afternoon, the children in attendance were not complaining about being bored, but rather got into the spirit of what Chris intends.

This Bishopstown-based artist wants his work, exploring the domestic and suburbia, to be “playful”. And his three young sons; Miles (10), Cole (8) and Kit (3), have even collaborated with him.

Their crayon drawings, which have been photographed, are on show. (This work was originally published by PhotoIreland in 2023 under the title of House Rules and a solo exhibition of the work was shown in Cork in 2022.)

“It’s all photography,” says Chris. “There’s a mix of staged photographs which I set up. Some of them are documentary photographs from around the house. I’m really interested in photography being experienced differently, not just looked at but handled. 

"I want people to slow down and think about the images because you have to engage with them, rather than just seeing a framed picture on a wall.”

‘What is home?’ is the implicit question posed in this exhibition. Chris, originally from Monaghan, moved from the UK to Cork with his Cork-born partner and their children in recent years.

“Since moving to Cork and making a new home, the work has come from that. I’m not sure if I have answered the question as to what is home. When I was building this work, I revisited my childhood and started seeing links between stuff that my kids do and my own upbringing and how it’s important to make sure they have those experiences. It’s about being playful and safe.”

Chris says his children enthusiastically got involved in making art.

“They have a real engagement with it. It’s not just something that daddy does. It’s something I do with them. I was a full-time secondary school teacher for ten years so I was out of the house a lot. Now that I’m a full time artist, I include the children in my practice which, I think, helps our two worlds.”

Chris loves teaching and still does it “here and there, doing my own work and bringing it to different contexts and leading with my own practice is better for my mental health.”

For this artist, who has a Masters in Photography from Falmouth University in Cornwall, home is important at this stage of his life.

“We carry around this sense of home with us. People who are displaced or are not privileged enough to own a home still have that sense (of home) that they bring to a room.”

Colette Cronin, who studied fine art at the Crawford College of Art and Design and has a postgraduate diploma from Goldsmith University London, says the notion of ‘home’ has always been a part of her working life. Originally from Mallow, Colette is renting in Cobh.

“I graduated in 2012 so it has been a long time,” says Colette. “There was a housing crisis then as well so it has always been in the news. Everyone has a story about it. I used to make art that was the ideal of home, with everything perfect. The work had clean straight edges. Now, for this exhibition, I kind of stepped away from that and let it be imperfect.”

Colette’s work for The Grammar of Home comprises miniature depictions of domesticity, carved from memory, experience and dreams.

“I used to focus on the external before. These works are of the internal such as objects that include a magazine holder.”

There is also a tiny plug pinned into a socket and glimpses of rooms such as kitchens, past and present.

“I build up the pieces with very thin layers of foam. Then I painted on paper very thickly with acrylic so it turns into something else and is more pliable.” 

The artefacts are reminiscent of plasticine.

Having grown up in the countryside, Colette says buying a place in rural Cork might be a possibility. “I could buy a shack and do it up myself,” she says.

Síomha Callanan is originally from Castletownroche and is now renting in Cork city.

She studied fine art photography at Limerick School of Art and Design, followed by a Masters from the Crawford. For the exhibition, she is showing a number of photographs taken in 2020 during the first covid lockdown, when the 2km travel limit was in place.

Looking outwards to her immediate environment, Síomha’s idea of home is broad, taking in architecture and nature rather than interiors.

“Instead of feeling confined, I took the 2km travel limit as an opportunity to explore my surroundings in depth,” she says.

“My starting point was Pope’s Quay. I made my way around the circle which brought me out as far as Blackpool, the Glen area, Boreenmanna Road, over to the Lough and down to Fitzgerald’s Park. I have a picture from the park of lily pods on the pond.”

Describing her project as interesting, Síomha says she didn’t know what to expect when she started it.

“I went on many, many walks. By the end of the project, I had created one of the largest bodies of work I’ve made to date. There are over 140 photographs, all on 35mm colour film, shot in analogue.”

Selecting photographs for the exhibition “was quite tricky. I tried to select a thread of images that related quite well together. Only a certain amount of space was available. I edited down the images to less than 20 and, with Susan, we chose the last selection together.”

Despite living in the city centre, Síomha says she is naturally drawn to nature. There is a crossover in the work, capturing flowers and buildings. “Those two things go on, even in an urban environment.” She likened her activity to that of the flaneur, strolling and observing - but with purpose as opposed to being idle.

The Grammar of Home continues until April 6.