Aleana Egan’s artworks hold an instinctive sensibility, referring to processes of adaptation, repair and reuse. The materiality of her work, whether in delicate fabrics, galvanised steel, or cast concrete speaks to the consideration given to the making and use of objects. Egan draws from personal and cultural associations of literature and cinema to suggest evocative moments of pause, intrigue and emotional depth.

A maritime child hints at a central nervous system, influenced by sensory formations carried through the low-lying modernist building at Interface–its cantilevered canopies, inoperative industrial architecture and the connective infrastructures of the former salmon hatchery. The exhibition comprises several new works that blend sculpture and painting, as well as re-made, re-finished and re-appropriated sculptures: outdoors and in two intimate interior spaces.

Egan responds to the atmosphere of pathos and human fallibility felt within the site. Her subtle but deliberate sculptural forms resist the romanticism of the ruinous outdoor tanks and pumps, and also the expansive natural landscape that encloses the site in the picturesque Lough Inagh Valley. Instead Egan’s works merge with–and present opportunities to accept and relate to–the rawness and fragility of both overwhelming environments.

At times intentionally obscure and elusive, the reading of Egan’s artwork is not always revealed instantly. Alternatively, her affinity to tactility, closeness and tonal sensation supports a slower response that walking the land and traversing the various points of curiosity within Interface supports and celebrates.

Aleana Egan’s solo exhibitions include Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (forthcoming September 2026); Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin (2025); Lismore Castle Arts (2024); Void, Derry (2022); Künstlerhaus Bremen (2021); NICC Vitrine, Brussels (2020); Farbvision, Berlin (2019); Illuminations Gallery, NUI Maynooth (2017); The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2015); Mary Mary, Glasgow (2014); The Drawing Room, London (2011); Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin (2009); Kunsthalle Basel (2008). Egan’s work has been represented internationally in group exhibitions including Kettles Yard, Cambridge; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh; SculptureCenter, New York.

Interface is an exhibition, studio and residency programme for artists of all disciplines situated in the Inagh Valley, in the heart of Connemara. Its mission is to provide catalysing opportunities for artists to develop work and engage with others through a platform exploring the intersections between scientific research and art. Interface offers artists an opportunity to engage with a unique environment and to be inspired by the exciting research taking place in a spectacular landscape on the edge of Derryclare Lake. The facility was built as a salmon hatchery in the late 1980s by renowned Irish architects Scott Tallon Walker. The facility was bought by the current owners in 2007 to develop a centre of scientific research. Interface Inagh is founded and directed by Alannah Robins.
 

Exhibition dates

12 July - 26 July, 12-6pm daily during Galway International Arts Festival,

continues to 16 August, 12-6pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Opening performance  - Saturday 11 July at 4.30pm


Aoife Nessa Frances will perform a brief music set in dialogue with the exhibition. Aoife Nessa Frances is a musician and songwriter based in Dublin. Her music articulates experiences of self-discovery, transformation and restoration. All welcome, no booking necessary.
 

Artist Talk - Sunday 12 July at 2pm


Aleana Egan and Michael Hill will give an informal walkthrough of the exhibition. All welcome, no booking necessary.

A maritime child is curated by Michael Hill. Michael Hill is Programme Curator at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin, and one half of the curatorial team that represented Ireland at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022, and Irish Tour 2023. He has curated exhibitions at The Model, Sligo; Weatherproof, Chicago; The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin; and Pallas Projects, Dublin. He collaborates with Aleana Egan on an ongoing series of postcards, with editions posted globally from Ireland, USA, Netherlands to date.

The exhibition is supported by Kerlin Gallery and Konrad Fischer Galerie. Thanks to Alannah Robins, Emma O Flaherty and John Durning at Interface.