TUS Limerick School of Art and Design lecturer and visual artist Breda Lynch’s work is now on display in Australia as part of the 24th Biennale of Sydney – a renowned international art exhibition.
The lecturer in Fine Art Print Contemporary Practice at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) travelled to Australia at the beginning of this month to participate in this prestigious international exhibition.
Her curated artwork entitled “Cake Bomb” is part of the IMMA collection in Dublin and will remain on loan to the Biennale of Sydney until June 10, 2024 the duration of this global exhibition.
The artists participation is supported by Culture Ireland, IMMA and the Hugh Lane in partnership with the Biennale of Sydney. This year’s Biennale is called “Ten Thousand Suns” and is curated across six iconic Sydney locations.
Breda’s work is on view in Sydney’s oldest art institution, AGNSW – Art Gallery New South Wales. The room where Cake Bomb is exhibited houses artwork that explores the “imaginaries of the mushroom cloud”.
Speaking from Australia she said, “The invitation from the curators Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero to participate at the 24th Biennale of Sydney has been a thrilling experience. I am grateful of the full support from IMMA on the logistics of loan agreements and the financial support of Culture Ireland to travel to Sydney.”
Describing her work Breda added, “Cake Bomb represents the press photograph featuring Admiral HP Blandy “the Atomic Admiral”, and his wife cutting the “Operation Crossroads” celebration cake – an image that was later decried as indecent. The Bikini Atoll bomb testing’s displaced indigenous populations as well giving rise to the new iconic image of the mushroom cloud. This is an image that heralded the atomic age and the information age, as well as enduring ‘as a symbol of global destruction and Western arrogance’.”
This year the Biennale of Sydney is showcasing the visionary creations of leading artists from diverse corners of the globe.
According to the Biennale, “The artists’ practices are firmly rooted in diverse communities and artistic vocabularies, inviting audiences to bear witness to multiple histories. The exhibition carries hope to resist the mainstream mindsets of perpetual crisis that often leads to inaction.
“The 24th Biennale of Sydney proposes celebration as both a method and a source of joy, produced in common and broadly shared, drawing inspiration from histories of queer coming-together to thrive in spite of it all. It invokes a spirit of abundance and generosity as powerful political tools. This edition revisits legacies of collective resistance, strength, and exuberance, while celebrating the exhibition as a carnival of rays and radiance, aptly titled Ten Thousand Suns.”
The Biennale of Sydney will run until June 10 2024.