Back to the Future
A small-scale retrospective of the work of David McDermott and Peter McGough at the Irish Museum of Modern Art covers almost two decades of their photographic work. It comprises some 120 works across a wide range of historic photographic media, including the use of palladium, gum, salt and cyanotype prints. The pair met in the notorious East Village New York art scene of the 1980s. In a revolt against the confines of chronological time, the duo appropriated imagery and objects from the late 1800s and early 1900s, reconstructing their lives as Victorian dandies (top hats, tails and all the trappings) and immersing themselves in the era in which they felt best suited. Paintings, installations and photographs are fuelled by this self-imposed time travel, subverting the obvious by incorporating homoerotic and art historical references. This allows their subject to expand outside its time-capsule and re-exist in relation to current cultural/artistic ideals. McDermott/McGough: 6 February- 27 April
 
Fresh Fields
New paintings and works on paper by Michael Canning can be seen at the Vangard Gallery. This will be Canning's fourth solo exhibition at this gallery. This artist was awarded the RHA's prestigious Hennessy Craig Prize in 2003 and the recipient of the Fergus O'Brien Memorial Award in 2006. The forthcoming exhibition will include a group of paintings depicting hedgerow plants growing from a foreground hilltop earthen bank, set above a patchwork of fields spreading out into the distance. In a style recalling botanical illustration, Canning's paintings appear at first traditional in composition, and almost Renaissance in execution, but behind this craft lies a strong theoretical understanding which gives the work a highly contemporary resonance. Michael Canning: 14 February- 8 March
 
In the Eye of a Needle
'The smallest things make the biggest impact,' says Willard Wigan. Wigan's sculptures measure less than a human blood cell and are sculpted from found materials including spider's web, dust particles and human eyelashes. Wigan's commissioned micro sculpture, Lloyd's of London on a Pin Head, sold in July 2007 at a private auction for £94,000, with proceeds from the sale going to the Prince's Trust. The David Lloyd collection of work by micro-sculptor Willard Wigan MBE will be exhibited at selected galleries in the UK and Ireland in early 2008. His work may be seen in Dublin at the Oisin Gallery. Willard Wigan: 7- 16 February