Laois artist opens edgy exhibition centering darkness and youth

Laois artist Sarah Quick is presenting Liminal Lines at Dunamaise Arts Centre this winter.

Speaking with the Leinster Express / Laois Live about the exhibition, Quick said: “Liminal Lines is a series I’ve been working on since last year, so it’s been a full year I’ve really been building the show.”

The images in the exhibition are paintings based on Quick’s night photography and use Quick’s children and the effects of darkness as subjects.

“I use the dark kind of as a transition space,” Quick explained. “It’s like a threshold space where things can change, can kind of blur in and out of focus, and the darkness itself is kind of like a subject if you will.”

“I use my kids a lot in my paintings,” Quick said. “Because they’re who I’m around.

“I had a lot of ideas for the type of work I wanted to create, and I did want to create images using darkness as a place for the figure. But I can’t get out at night to take pictures like male artists can. I just thought, well, why don’t I just use what I’m around, use my kids.

“It can be equally edgy work, it doesn’t have to be sentimental,” she added.

“I start with a feeling I want to create in a painting, and I’ll have an image concept in my head. But then oftentimes I’ll go to recreate it or create it – often using my iPhone because I’ll get really bad-quality images which helps me to create the work I want to do – and my kids are so chaotic that they often can create images that fit the narrative, or I can piece them together a little bit. So the images evolve as I create them as well.”

Quick says her kids are “at an age where they think it’s interesting.” While there might come a time when they are not so eager to pose, Quick laughs, “I assume when they’re older I might be able to get out a bit more.”

Originally from Canada, Quick moved to Ireland 15 years ago with her Irish husband and now lives in Laois. She studied art at Mount Allison University in Canada and after moving to Ireland took a residency at the Burren College of Art. In the last few years, she has exhibited with the Hamilton Gallery in Sligo, the RHA Annual Exhibition, the Orpin Prize and the Art Riddler.

Dunamaise Arts Centre described Quick’s exhibition as: “a captivating collection of artwork that explores the spaces between reality, memory and imagination.

“Liminal Lines offers audiences an opportunity to experience Sarah's artistic vision, where light, colour and expressive brushwork come together to create powerful and thought-provoking images.

“Through her distinctive painting style, Sarah captures everyday moments with a sense of mystery and emotion. Her work invites viewers to look beyond the familiar and discover the beauty, vulnerability and atmosphere hidden within ordinary scenes.”

Liminal Lines opens on November 6 at 7pm, with remarks by James Hanley and an opportunity to meet the artist.

The exhibition continues until 4 December with viewing hours Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–5pm.