The eyes have it... a must-see exhibition at Crawford

THE portrait exhibition at the Gibson Galleries in the Crawford Art Gallery might just give you the feeling of being watched.

Entitled All Eyes On Us, many of the portraits in the exhibition - from Roy Keane with an avian theme to Cork poet Gerry Murphy portrayed as a digital print in a light box - give the impression that we are being scrutinised by the eyes of the subjects.

It’s what’s known as the ‘Mona Lisa Effect’, given that Leonardo Da Vinci’s subject in the Louvre in Paris appears to be looking at you no matter where you stand in the room where the painting is hung.

The exhibition, which runs until March 24, explores who gets to look at whom and prompts questions of power and performance. It asks: Is it possible to meet ourselves reflected in familiar or forgotten faces?

The Crawford Gallery’s Michael Waldron, who with Matt Ryan curated the exhibition of 75 portraits from the gallery’s collection, says the ‘Mona Lisa Effect’ is a result of two-dimensional portraits.

“If they were 3-D paintings, it wouldn’t be the same. I think Leonardo Da Vinci was witty and intelligent enough to understand what he was doing. He was experimental and I think quite playful.”

As Michael explains, portraits give rise to questions such as who has the power when we encounter one.

“Is the power with the artist because they made the portrait and they control things a bit? Is the power with us because we choose to look and judge, or does the person in the portrait have power because sometimes they might not look at you, so they could be withholding something?

“I don’t know if there’s an answer.”

The familiar Roy Keane photographic portrait is almost confrontational, with the Cork born soccer star’s penetrating stare. “It was done at the time when he had just left the Irish team in Saipan. It was a pivotal moment in his career,” said Michael.

With Roy holding the skull of a raven close to his eye, it’s a sharp memorable portrait, captured by photographer Murdo MacLeod who does a lot of sports photography.

The Kerry seanchaí (storyteller) Peig Sayers, whose autobiography was the bane of many a secondary school pupil tasked with studying it, is the subject of Kevin Mooney’s surprising portrait.

Kevin, based at Sample Studios in Churchfield, recently had a solo show at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art).

“We purchased the work last year,” explains Michael. “It’s an abstracted portrait of Peig Sayers done in the artist’s own personal style. As he puts it, he is trying to imagine how Irish art would have developed in the medieval if it didn’t have influences from Europe.

“It’s like a piece of folk art that gives this idea of an alternative art history.”

The almost collage-style piece has key indicators of Peig Sayers, with the centre parting in her hair, the suggestion of a shawl, and two clay pipes with plumes of smoke coming out of them.

The eyes, which look like artificial ones, are very far apart and seem to be hovering in the air. They’re almost popping and are like marbles.

The time-line of the portraits in the Crawford exhibition ranges from 1760 to 2022. They also include portrait busts by the Cork sculptor, Seamus Murphy, through to a portrait of James Joyce by Louis le Brocquy.

There are other portraits of writers such as Kate O’Brien and Lennox Robinson. There’s also portraits of people that are not necessarily household names.

There’s a portrait by Gerald Festus Kelly of Sasha Kropotkin. She was involved in the Russian Revolution in 1917, and also translated War And Peace into English. The Crawford Gallery acquired the portrait of her for £250 back in the 1920s.

Other portraits include a bust of Cork Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney, who died on hunger strike in 1920. There’s a portrait of his widow, Muriel by John Lavery.

The one of Cork-born actor and director, Fiona Shaw, was painted by British artist, Victoria Russell. She won the BP Portrait Prize over 20 years ago.

“The prize was a commission to create a portrait of a celebrity. Victoria chose Fiona Shaw and made two portraits of her. The other one hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

“We bought our one in 2002. Fiona is a good supporter of the Crawford and is a great friend of the artist Dorothy Cross who studied here.”

There’s a self-portrait of artist Elton Sibanda who moved to Ireland four years ago from Zimbabwe with his family.

“He’s only 22. He did first year at the Crawford College. He won an art competition and created a portrait called Faded. He appears three times in a screen print. It’s a bit like echoes of himself and it’s about identity.”

Robert Ballagh’s portrait of his artist daughter, Rachel, depicts her as a child done up to look like a Marilyn Monroe doll. There are also two self-portraits of Rachel on show.

The exhibition, on the first floor of the gallery over two rooms, is well worth a look. “Time is of the essence,” says Michael.

The gallery will be closed for two years from late summer or early autumn for major renovation work.

“People who have come to the exhibition really enjoy it. It’s quite playful and thought provoking,” said Michael.

“The first room is presented as a salon-style display with floor to ceiling portraits. You have to keep going back to the map there to see who’s who.”