“This exhibition is the first significant institutional presentation of Anne Tallentire’s work since her career survey This, and Other Things 1999-2010 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
But this material… brings together key works from the last decade as well as work which is re-imagined for the particular architectural and spatial qualities of the MAC galleries.
Tallentire’s recent practice explores how we inhabit space, both public and private, to reveal systems that shape the built environment and the economics of labour. Central to her approach is an interrogation of everyday materials and structures.
Exploring dimensionality and mapping to transpose one physical space onto another, Tallentire frequently repurposes found building materials often associated with the construction industry to delineate space in relation to specific contexts.
The works on view in But this material… attest to Tallentire’s preoccupation with how various conditions determine, regulate, shape and impact patterns of daily life and living environments. Attentive to the specificity of location, Tallentire introduces improvisational tactics to propose more equal spaces for living. Her practice resonates with current debates on the rising costs of housing and the systemic failure of the state to provide adequate social housing.
Running concurrently throughout But this material… will be a participatory programme of workshops, talks, film screenings and presentations co-designed with the MAC’s Associate Partner, Participation & Practice of Rights (PPR) documenting the lived experience of individuals and families in Belfast.”
