Moira McIver is a lens-based artist living between N.Ireland and Donegal. Her work includes photography, video, installation, publication, and public art. She is a lecturer in Fine Art and teaches photography and video within the BA honours Fine Art course, at Belfast School of Art.
Moira's projects are often based on historical events and the interplay between mainstream perspectives and individual experience and recollection. She researches first-hand accounts and popular local myths and stories to explore overlooked and under-represented viewpoints.
McIver works across a range of digital and analogue lens-based media to explore how our sense of the physical remains vital to our perception and interpretation of history. She undertook a residency in Glasgow in 2021 as part of an exchange between Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow and Artlink, Donegal. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2022, her work was included in the National Photography Collection Inaugural Exhibition, Dublin and her photography is held in collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum (London) the Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds), GT Gallery (Belfast).
At this Artist Talk Moira will walk her audience around her current exhibition, Migration Memories.
Migration Memories derives from a series of art projects developed since the 1980s, originally based on archival documents and family photographs. The subsequent projects have used a range of media from large-format film cameras to digital scanners. These artworks explore the experience of migration between Donegal and Glasgow from the 1920s to the present day, and how this shapes a sense of identity, particularly from a female perspective. McIver has focused on recent generations of her family, including her mother who migrated at the age of sixteen, from Donegal to Glasgow in 1945, with Gaelic as her first language. Through the exploration of historical photographic traditions including studio portraiture and the box brownie snapshot, McIver attempts to reframe these experiences from a contemporary perspective.
This is a free event and all are welcome to attend.
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Is ealaíontóir lionsa-bhunaithe í Moira McIver a chónaíonn idir Tuaisceart Éireann agus Co. Dhún na nGall. Áirítear ina cuid oibre grianghrafadóireacht, físeáin, suiteán, foilsiú agus ealaín phoiblí. Is léachtóir sa Mhínealaín í agus múineann sí grianghrafadóireacht agus físeáin mar chuid den chúrsa BA Onóracha Mínealaíne, i Scoil Ealaíne Bhéal Feirste.
Is minic a bhíonn cuid tionscadal Moira bunaithe ar imeachtaí stairiúla agus ar an idirghníomhú idir peirspictíochtaí príomhshrutha agus taithí agus cuimhne an duine aonair. Déanann sí taighde ar chuntais phearsanta agus ar mhiotais agus ar scéalta áitiúla chun tuilleadh a fháil amach faoi dhearcthaí a ndéantar dearmad orthu agus nach bhfuil dóthain ionadaíochta déanta orthu.
Oibríonn McIver le raon meán digiteach agus analógach lionsa-bhunaithe chun a fháil amach conas a fhanann ár mbraistint fhisiciúil ríthábhachtach dár ndearcadh agus dár léirmhíniú ar an stair.
Bhí sí ar chónaitheacht i nGlaschú sa bhliain 2021 mar chuid de mhalartú idir Street Level Photoworks Ghlaschú agus Artlink Dhún na nGall. Sa bhliain 2022, bhí a saothar mar chuid de Thaispeántas Tionscnaimh an Bhailiúcháin Náisiúnta Ghrianghrafadóireachta, Baile Átha Cliath agus coinnítear a cuid grianghrafadóireacht i mbailiúcháin lena n-áirítear Músaem Victoria & Albert (Londain), Músaem na nArmairí Ríoga (Leeds), Dánlann GT (Béal Feirste).
Ag an caint seo siúlfaidh Moira an lucht eisteachta thart ar a taispeántas reatha, Cuimhní na Coigríche.
Tagann Cuimhní na Coigríche ó shraith tionscadal ealaíne a forbraíodh ó bhí na 1980idí ann, bunaithe ar dtús ar dhoiciméid chartlainne agus grianghraif teaghlaigh. Bhain na tionscadail a tháinig ina dhiaidh sin úsáid as réimse meáin, ó ceamaraí le scannáin mhóra go scanóirí digiteacha. Déanann na saothair ealaíne seo cíoradh ar eispéiris na himirce idir Dún na nGall agus Glaschú ó na 1920idí go dtí an lá atá inniu ann, agus an dóigh a mhúnlaíonn sé seo braistint féiniúlachta, go háirithe ó thaobh na mban de. Dhírigh McIver ar na glúnta deireanacha dá teaghlach, máthair ina measc. Chuaigh sí ar imirce sa bhliain 1945 ó Dhún na nGall go Glaschú ag sé bliana déag d’aois, agus an Ghaeilge mar phríomhtheanga aici. Trí staidéar a dhéanamh ar thraidisiúin ghrianghrafadóireachta stairiúla lena n-áirítear portráidíocht stiúideo agus pictiúr box brownie, déanann McIver iarracht na heispéiris seo a athfhrámú ó pheirspictíocht chomhaimseartha.
Imeacht saor in aisce agus fáilte roimh achan duine.