Amelia Stein
, Irish, b.1958
Printer
Guillaume Geneste
Title
Precipice: The Knife Rock, 2015Date2019
MediumArchival gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 40 x 50 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2019
Object numberNGI.2019.141
DescriptionDrawing on the inspirational and ancient names of promontories, headlands and cliffs, as gathered by local historians Uinsíonn Mac Graith and Treasa Ní Ghearraigh, Amelia Stein has produced this body of work lending impact and emotion to the edge of the Atlantic. Stein questions our emotional response to the mesmerising dangers conjured up in place names, such as 'Diarmaid and Gráinnes's Bed' (Leaba Dhiarmaid agus Grainne).After previously exhibiting 'Erris' at the RHA, Dublin, Ireland, 2015, Stein further engages with the environment that helped shape the character of a people living on the boundary of an ocean that is a relentless backdrop to their history. The North West coast of Mayo is one of the most remote and breath-taking locations in the North Atlantic and, at close quarters, 'Precipice' examines the concepts of fear and exhilaration inherent in the life of a small coastal community.
ProvenancePurchased, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, 2019Exhibition HistoryNew Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021