The 141st Annual Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition: Belfast student reveals how he has found a space within the Belfast arts scene
Abby Davidson
The Annual Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition is a staple in the Belfast art calendar and showcases the work of local, national and international artists.
Anyone who has visited the exhibition, especially those of us who return each year, will know how overwhelming the first time stepping into that gallery space can be. Every inch of wall is filled with a jigsaw of artworks and throughout the floor space lie a trail of sculptures.
The level of work is always of the highest standard, so to be selected for the exhibition is an honour for any artist, old or young. This year Oisín McDonnell is one of those artists.
His piece, Eternity in an Hour, was selected from his final undergraduate art show at The Belfast School of Art to be included in the exhibition, an opportunity he called “an amazing privilege”. The piece is a three-dimensional lenticular etching of a seascape/landscape.
Eternity in an Hour (Oisín McDonnell) - Image courtesy of Oisín McDonnell
Oisín, who is currently studying a Masters of Fine Art at Ulster University’s Belfast School of Art, specialises in the medium of Print and capturing the essence of nature within his art.
Describing himself as an “outdoorsy person”, his appreciation of the world around him is clear for anyone who views his work. With a self-proclaimed “fixation with seascapes”, his exhibition piece is based on a photograph he took of Downings beach in Donegal, a place he often takes inspiration from. In the background of the scene, you may even spot Mount Errigal if you look closely enough, a tell-tale sign of its geographical inspiration.
Oisín has started to move his practise in a more experimental direction, branching into the field of installation art. He expressed that he has “always been quite curious and asked the question, can I make something?”, a concept he has applied as he shifts away from the traditional way of printing to “find ways of creating a more three-dimensional, special, interactive experience for the viewer”.
Eternity in an Hour is an example of this experimentation, taking the idea from a lenticular billboard where the viewer sees a different image depending on the angle they view the billboard from. Oisín wanted to create the experience of “being able to walk around the work” and viewing it as you move past.
The piece itself is more than just a geographical journey but a journey through time. As your eye moves from the brown landscape to the blue landscape it emulates the passing from “the warm morning to the colder evening” of the landscape.
For Oisín, seeing his piece within the exhibition for the first time was a strange experience because he “didn’t know how they were going to hang it”. His first thought was, “this is very high”, but after considering the piece’s position in the gallery space he “saw that they had really thought about how they would place it” to give the viewers the best opportunity to consider the piece.
Esther (Colin Davidson) - Image courtesy of Abby Davidson
Oisín’s mind was “completely blown twice”, not only getting to see his piece in the prestigious exhibition and walking in to see the coveted little red dot beside his piece – meaning his artwork has been bought but also to be awarded the KPMG Young Artist Award. He was even more amazed when he found out that the piece has been bought before the opening night of the exhibition.
As his first time being featured in a really big exhibition, Oisín described the experience as “quite intimidating”. Other artists featuring in the exhibition this year included the renowned local painter Colin Davidson, English sculpture Tim Shaw and Irish artist Abigail O’Brien.
This is a daunting group of creators to sit amongst for any young artist. Oisín valued this opportunity to engage with other artists despite feeling as though he “brought the age range down quite a bit” at the age of 21. A particular treat for Oisín was getting to see the work of artist and family friend, Simon Cook, in the same gallery space as his own.
Oisín called his inclusion in the exhibition his “beginning as an actual artist” and is starting to take the next steps in his artistic journey having recently joined as a member of Belfast Print Workshop.
He also commented on the arts scene in Belfast; “I do love how many galleries we have open here” and mentioned the Late Night Art events that take place every month. For Oisín, Belfast provides the “opportunity to talk to other artists…see ideas you wouldn’t have thought of”. He doesn’t however forget that there are challenges for artists here too, with the recent fire at Cathedral Buildings.
So, what does Oisín have planned next? He hopes to start getting his artwork out there more, having been given “quite a bit of motivation” by the RUA exhibition, and has been driven to move further into installation work.
The free admission Royal Ulster Academy exhibition will run at the Ulster Museum until 3 January 2023. Click here for more information.
Featured image courtesy of Oisín McDonnell.
Abby Davidson is Deputy Head at The Scoop and a Liberal Arts student at Queen’s University Belfast