Huddle Tests is a new exhibition by Dublin artist Rhona Byrne, starting this September at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.

Rhona Byrne’s new exhibition, ‘Huddle tests’, will transform the Temple Bar Gallery + Studios into a testing ground for the exploration of social relations, group dynamics and associated anxieties.

Through the use of sculpture, drawing and wearables, the installation reflects on the desires and tensions experienced between private thought and public behaviour, feelings of isolation and belonging, connectivity and relating, distraction and attending and the fragile state between comfort and discomfort.

By inviting participation and reflection the ‘Huddle tests’ exhibition will involve a series of events and activities as well as an open invite for ‘group work’ for the duration of the exhibition.

Rhona Byrne will also present her new project, ‘Huddlewear’, a series of wearable artworks/ social clothing that she developed during the AIR (Artist in Residence) programme at the Facebook HQ in Dublin.

For this exhibition, ‘Huddlewear’ becomes a tool for activating exchanges in relationships between individuals, groups and communities. Visitors are encouraged to wear and inhabit ‘Huddlewear’ and to explore the intimacy and complexities of connection in real time. The designs of the garments allow them to be worn by pairs or groups of people, and aim to explore the wearer’s sense of self and vulnerability during moments of interaction and gathering.

Rhona Byrne, a graduate of the NCAD, lives and works in Dublin. Her work is predominantly site and project specific, and comprises hand made objects, sculpture, video, photography, drawings, context specific installations, and collaborative event-based projects that explore the interplay between people and their habitat. A selection of her recent projects and works is available on her website.

‘Huddle tests’ by Rhona Byrne takes place at the Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, running from 12th September to 7th November, 2015. The exhibition officially opens at 6pm on Friday, 11th September, with a free reception open to all, as part of the inaugural Dublin Gallery Weekend.

CONTACT DETAILS
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios
5 – 9, Temple Bar
Dublin 2