An edited version of this review was published in the Sunday Times Culture magazine on the 21 September 2014
Dorothy Cross is much possessed by death. Back in her udder days, the artful arrangement of bovine parts was overshadowed by your awareness of being in the presence of dead creatures. Then came the sharks (what is it with artists and sharks?), the snakes, and the odd deceased gannet. Her striking Ghost Ship lingers on in prints. At View, an exhibition of new work in the Kerlin Gallery, this underlying bass sound can still be heard. This time, in addition to a shark, we get escalation in the form of a human skull - cleft in twain to act as a repository for tiny meteorites - themselves the remnants of dead stars. There's also a door that has obviously had a hard life. It's a dead door, worn out and redundant. Cross's career is very much alive however. This exhibition of sculptures and photographs coincides with her major new commission, the cryptic Eye of Shark at Lismore Castle Arts in Waterford. This site-specific project will be followed by Trove, an exhibition of works selected by the artist from the National Collections of Ireland, at IMMA in November.
Kerlin Gallery
Dublin
Mon-Fri: 10am-5.45pm
Sat: 11am-4.30 pm
01-6709093
John P. O'Sullivan
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