This October, a year on from receiving the AIB Prize, Linda Quinlan's affiliation with Ireland's most prestigious art award will culminate in an exhibition of her work at the Crawford Gallery of Art, Cork. Unlike other art awards, in which artists receive a single lump-sum, the AIB Prize establishes a supportive role that aims to launch more effectively an artist's career. This is achieved by focusing on the essential elements of professional art practice, such as association with a gallery and the provision of financial and practical resources necessary to produce work, over an extended period. The process begins with an application procedure that requires a publicly funded gallery to nominate an artist of their choice for the award. In doing so the gallery commits to hosting an exhibition of the artist's work if they receive the prize. The prize itself, €20,000, goes towards facilitating the production of new work and also funds the publication of a catalogue for the show. It is this process, from nomination to exhibition and publication, that has made the AIB Prize such a sought-after and beneficial award over the past eight years.

Nominated by the Crawford Gallery, Quinlan's relationship with the institution began when she studied Fine Art as an undergraduate in the Crawford College of Art. Since graduating she has returned to exhibit in the gallery on a number of occasions including the Crawford Open and C2 exhibitions. After completing an MA in Virtual Realities at the National College of Art and Design in 2003, Quinlan proceeded to exhibit at various venues and events. These included the Claremorris Open, where she was recipient of the emerging artist award, and the Eurojet exhibition at the RHA. She is now based at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios where she is a member of the board and also works as a part-time lecturer at Dublin Institute of Technology. In 2005 Quinlan co-founded(with artist, Lee Welch) Four, a dynamic new art space in Dublin dedicated to presenting a diverse range of artistic production. Four is also responsible for the art initiative Launch which, through an exhibition and awards programme, not unlike the AIB Prize, supports recent graduates of Irish art colleges.


The importance of awards in assisting in an artist's development should not be underestimated and winning the AIB Prize has allowed Quinlan to pursue a course of action that might otherwise have been more challenging. After receiving the award in 2006, Quinlan held a well-received exhibition at the Fenton Gallery before undertaking a four-month artist's residency at the University of Tasmania. Her experience in Tasmania has had a substantial impact on her current art practice and it is one of the primary influences, both practically and conceptually, on the body of work that will be on display in the Crawford in October.

During a brief interview, Quinlan explained that due to the high standard of the facilities and technical assistance available in the university she was, for the first time, able to consider and work with materials and techniques that had until then evaded her. This included working with materials such as resin, porcelain and synthetic materials in addition to learning manual skills such as wood-turning and casting. One of the fundamental concerns of Quinlan's practice is the inherent nature of objects and her work displays a curiosity into the personal meanings and associations we ascribe to objects that are familiar. Her experience in Tasmania had a profound influence on how she now approaches these ideas in her studio. While previously her artistic output comprised sculptures and installations constructed predominately from identifiable objects she now has the skills necessary to craft objects that realise a more liberated creative impulse. Such dynamic results were particularly evident in the recent exhibition Come Together held at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in July (with Clodagh Emoe and Nina Cannell). Quinlan exhibited a selection of installations that comprised a variety of found, sourced and created objects. By juxtaposing the identifiable with the uncanny her sculptures challenge the viewer to question and explore their expectations and understanding of the familiar (Figs 1&2).

Due to the conceptual nature of Quinlan's practice the initial idea often dictates her choice of media, which in turn shapes and influences the form of expression. As a result, in addition to sculpture, she exploits a range of technologies including photography, slides and video (Fig 3). One of the key works to go on display in Cork is a video installation made by Quinlan in Tasmania. The work stems from her interest in location, origin and documentation as rational points from which one can negotiate one's identity. Her arrival in Tasmania coincided with the appearance of a non-periodic comet named McNaught's, which she endeavoured, in vain, to capture on video. However, compelled to record the event in some form, she developed an inventive method of recreating the comet's trail by employing the rudimentary technology of a pinhole camera combined with cigarette smoke (provided by a passer-by) and her video camera. Unexpectedly, the entire process of documenting this universal phenomenon became a vehicle by which Quinlan established a geographic and social relationship with her new location. The installation of this particular work in Cork will comprise two video projections. One will display Quinlan's comet while the other will feature the simple apparatus within which it was created (Fig 4). The work thus establishes a curious relationship between the incomprehensible and the everyday.

To an extent, the work shown at the Douglas Hyde Gallery was a preview of what to expect at the Crawford. However, though reluctant to be labelled a site-specific artist, Quinlan is extremely responsive to location and often reconfigures her work in reaction to its specific surroundings. This flexible approach to installation can significantly alter the meaning and appearance of artworks. It will be interesting to see both the results of her approach to and the effect on her work of the diverse architecture, history and function particular to the Crawford Gallery.

Donal Maguire is Assistant at the Centre for the Study of Irish Art at the National Gallery of Ireland and also a practising artist.

All Images ©The Artist.

Linda Quinlan, Winner of AIB Emerging Artist Award 2006,
Long Room, Crawford Gallery of Art, Cork 16 October-1 December.