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One of Ireland's most internationally renowned artists returns with her first solo show in Dublin since her outstanding exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2005.

Dorothy Cross once more brings nature into the gallery space with a new series of works incorporating sculpture, photography and video. Much of this new work is a direct result of a recent visit to the Melanesian island of New Ireland in the South Pacific. Cross spent time in the remote villages on the west coast of the island where risk and ritual still exist, interacting with the 'shark-callers'; fishermen who go out alone to catch sharks in small canoes using rattles and songs to lure them to the surface. Moving much closer to home, Cross has salvaged a Currach with a fractured bow from a beach in Connemara and will install it in the gallery, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Beneath it a stuffed gannet flies, as if above it, up-side down.

The work in 'Sapiens' continues Dorothy Cross' ongoing attempt to reposition man in nature and consider the primitive whilst locating wisdom in object and image. Cross imaginatively presents works that integrate a craving for transcendence amidst the mundane.

Cross has participated in numerous shows internationally including the 1993 Venice Biennial, the 1997 Istanbul Biennial and the 1998 Liverpool Biennial. She also took part in the ground-breaking 1994 exhibition 'Bad Girls' in the ICA London and CCA, Glasgow; the 1998 exhibition 'Mirror Images: Women, Surrealism and Self Representation', which was shown at MIT List Art Centre, Boston, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami and the San Francisco MOMA; 'Skin' (with Ernesto Neto and Yoel Davids) at the Cranbrook Museum, Michigan, USA. A major retrospective of her career was held at Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin in 2005. Her work is included in the collections of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Norton Collection, Santa Monica, Art Pace Foundation, Texas, the Goldman Sachs Collection, London and the Tate Modern, London, among others.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
currach 2007

Dorothy Cross
Currach, 2007
boat with wood, tar and gannet
500 x 130 x 70 cm / 196.9 x 51.2 x 27.6 in

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Selam shark-caller 2007

Dorothy Cross
Selam shark-caller, 2007
DVD, duration: 1 min 40 secs 

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forge 2007

Dorothy Cross
Forge, 2007
cast bronze skull and iron anvil
46 x 65 x 28 cm / 18.1 x 25.6 x 11 in, 20 x 18 x 21 cm / 7.9 x 7.1 x 8.3 in

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Girl with whale bone

Dorothy Cross
Girl with whale bone, 2007
giclée on paper, Polyfloat-mounted, edition of 4 + 1 AP
77 x 65 x 5 cm

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bounce 2007

Dorothy Cross
Bounce, 2007
suspended cast bronze football, cord and fixtures
21 x 21 x 18 cm / 8.3 x 8.3 x 7.1 in

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sapiens 2007

Dorothy Cross
Sapiens, 2007
cast bronze skull and antique brass tripod
128 x 49 x 49 cm / 50.4 x 19.3 x 19.3 in

Inquire
currach 2007

Dorothy Cross
Currach, 2007
boat with wood, tar and gannet
500 x 130 x 70 cm / 196.9 x 51.2 x 27.6 in

Selam shark-caller 2007

Dorothy Cross
Selam shark-caller, 2007
DVD, duration: 1 min 40 secs 

forge 2007

Dorothy Cross
Forge, 2007
cast bronze skull and iron anvil
46 x 65 x 28 cm / 18.1 x 25.6 x 11 in, 20 x 18 x 21 cm / 7.9 x 7.1 x 8.3 in

Girl with whale bone

Dorothy Cross
Girl with whale bone, 2007
giclée on paper, Polyfloat-mounted, edition of 4 + 1 AP
77 x 65 x 5 cm

bounce 2007

Dorothy Cross
Bounce, 2007
suspended cast bronze football, cord and fixtures
21 x 21 x 18 cm / 8.3 x 8.3 x 7.1 in

sapiens 2007

Dorothy Cross
Sapiens, 2007
cast bronze skull and antique brass tripod
128 x 49 x 49 cm / 50.4 x 19.3 x 19.3 in

Installation Views

Installation Views Thumbnails
6

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

2007 Sapiens

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

5

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Sapiens4

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

6

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

2007 Sapiens

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

5

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007

Sapiens4

Dorothy Cross, Sapiens, Kerlin Gallery, 23 March - 28 April 2007