I’ll Be Your Mirror

I’ll Be Your Mirror consists of two complementary chapters, each combining spoken word, screenings and performances. Bringing together contributions from local and international artists, these nocturnal events highlight the inescapable allure of Warhol’s legacy. While some of the contributors address Warhol directly, others explore themes that resonate with it; consumption, celebrity, sexuality, identity, mechanical reproduction, analogue technology. selfhood and the emancipation of repressed desire via the photographic image.

Part I begins with an in-person introduction by Erica Schreiner to three shorts that she made on VHS. A preoccupation with analogue technology also informs the work of  Ronan McCrea  who will share reflections (both literal and physical) on an ongoing body of work entitled Study for Projection Series. Following this, Nicole Flattery reads excerpts from Nothing Special; her 2022 novel featuring a  protagonist who works as a typist in The Factory. After an interlude for refreshments the Office for Joint Administrative Intelligence (Chris Dreier and Gary Farrelly ) will present a new performance exploring bureaucratic, architectonic, and ritualistic approaches to hero-making.

Part II (December 2nd) begins with a talk by Perry Ogden  in which he discusses his use of polaroid to document the milieu that gathered at Taboo; the nightclub founded by Leigh Bowery in mid 80s London. Gerard Byrne expounds upon his reconstruction of conversations originally featured in Warhol’s Interview Magazine. The first half of the soirée concludes with Small Night Projects  launching the fourth issue of their text-based art publication. Screenings by George Kuchar  and Cheryl Donegan are followed by a live performance by Dina from Egypt. This Amsterdam based lip-synching band exude glamour and strive to achieve maximum celebrity with minimum effort.

The title of this project is taken from a song by Nico and the Velvet Underground featured on their eponymous debut album released in 1967. The LP was recorded the year before its release when the band were still managed by Warhol and headlining the multimedia performance art show known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. The title of this event evokes both the persona and oeuvre of Warhol who is frequently described as a “mirror of his age.”

I’ll Be Your Mirror is curated by Pádraic E. Moore and is intended as a nocturnal counterpart to the major Warhol exhibition Three Times Out, taking place at Hugh Lane Gallery.