Anita Groener tells Aidan Dunne about the enduring concerns of her work, in which she is ‘always trying to bring things together and hold them together’
Aidan Dunne: I’ve just seen your exhibition ‘To the Edge of Your World’ at the Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda (spring 2025). It seems in keeping with the trajectory of your work over the last two decades and more, and also relevant to the current historical moment, which is exceptionally uneasy, unsettled.
Anita Groener: I think the concerns it addresses, such as conflict, migration, homelessness, are always part of our lives, so they’re always relevant. I mean, everyone wants to live in peace, to have a home, to get on with their lives, and these things are denied to so many. Why is this so? This underlying human story interests me.
AD: The show consists of a central installation with a large number of interlinked satellite pieces. Throughout, the constituent parts are all on a small scale – tiny constructions made of twigs, and drawings. Did you plan it with Highlanes in mind?
AG: Well, no, in that the work existed already, but yes, in the sense that by its nature it’s an installation that needs careful planning. And actually, when Aoife Ruane first asked me, I initially thought, no, because I saw that space as being difficult. I felt I needed an intimate space for people to engage with the work. It was important to me that the central installation, the ‘table’, be enclosed. Aoife pointed out that the gallery was actually very flexible, that they could literally move the internal walls around. I was surprised at the extent to which they could do that and I’m happy with the way it worked out. The exhibition is travelling on to the United States.
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