Cork exhibition based on 1916 letters

AN exhibition of Lifescape collages by Clonakilty-based artist Geraldine O’Sullivan titled ‘16 Letters’ will open on October 14th as part of Cork City Council’s commemorative exhibition in St Peter’s Centre on North Main Street in Cork and run until November 8th.

‘16 Letters’ has returned from New York where it was exhibited in association with Salon Eire 100, as part of Culture Ireland’s celebration of 100 years of Irish Culture. 

It  is an exhibition of Lifescape collages based on letters carefully selected from a archival material in public and private collections, written during the momentous events prior to, during and after the Easter Rising and the First World War, between November 1915 and November 1916. 

The letters sent to, from and within Ireland give a sense of profound context to the extr ordinary and ordinary historical events of this time. 

Letters featured include correspondence from ordinary families as well as historical figures such as Rodger Casement, George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Mac Donagh, Michael Collins and Emily Shackleton. 

Geraldine O’Sullivan read over 2,000 letters before making her selection, together, the letters and artwork add new perspectives to the events of the period and allow us to understand what it was like to live an ordinary life through what were extraordinary times. 

The work highlights the mundane and at times comical events mentioned in the letters.

 The opening times at St Peter’s Centre are Tue-Wed: 10am-5pm; Thur-Sat: 10am-6pm; and Sundays and bank holidays: 11am-3pm.