Curated by: Inti Guerrero

The 38th edition of EVA International connects the narrative futures of early twentieth century Ireland with the sexual and identity politics of the present day. The exhibition takes its starting point from the painting ‘Night Candles are Burnt Out’ (1927) by Irish artist Sean Keating, which presents an allegory of the Irish psyche at the advent of the construction of Ardnacrusha – a hydroelectric dam, built that same year on the border of County Limerick. Ardnacrusha was a futurist icon of modern civil engineering in its day, which accelerated the economy and radically shifted society of the new Irish state. Keating’s painting depicts a host of characters set against the backdrop of the construction site, whose lives are set to change by the dawning of a new era of technological progress.

The construction of Ardnacrusha encompasses a number of intertwined themes and narratives that unfold through artworks by Irish and international artists addressing themes of nationhood, technological progress, electricity and metaphors of power. Power upon the body of others, in particular society’s control over reproduction, will be integral to the exhibition. Rather than a monolithic thematic exhibition, the 38th EVA International wishes to establish a cosmology of exhibitions; a kaleidoscopic ecology of intertwining display narratives with essayistic, retinal and bodily narratives.

Open to the public from April 14 to July 8, 2018, across various locations, institutions and public spaces in Limerick City. The full list of artists and full programme of events and venues, will be released in further announcements.