Gallery Asna (the newly named Clonakilty Arts Centre gallery) is kicking off 12 months of exciting exhibition programming with two exhibitions of analogue photography in January and February.
Local photographer Thady Trá will firstly be showcasing new work developed and printed in his Clonakilty Arts Centre studio. This will be Trá’s first solo exhibition and Gallery Asna is delighted to be supporting his emerging talent.
Trá writes of his work: “I am a West Cork photographer and I see everyday life through the lens in my own way. I love to shoot black and white film, which I develop and print in my darkroom. Growing up in Clonakilty I take inspiration from the people and creative energy of this town, which I love and happily encounter everyday.”
Trá’s show will be followed by ‘The Chess Tables’ an exhibition of skateboarder portraits by Jack Knowles, from Dublin. Knowles spent the summer of 2021 documenting the skateboarding scene in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, in the area known as the Chess Tables. According to Knowles, “skaters go there for its smooth concrete surface and its social scene; that grew in popularity due to Covid restrictions limiting access to skate parks.”
Discussing his approach, Knowles writes: “I documented the area and the skaters through live-action shots, portraiture and still life. I shot all the work on 6×6, 120 black and white film photography. I regularly visited the area and spent most of my time conversing and getting to know the skaters who skated in the area. I took inspiration from the American photographer Bruce Davidson and his approach to series-based work by immersing yourself in a group to create the strongest and most meaningful work.”
In terms of his aims for the work Knowles states, “The focus of the project aims to humanise skateboarders and the skateboarding community. In doing so, it attempts to subvert the negative image of skateboarding in Ireland. Additionally, the images investigate the Irish skating subculture and the recent growth in skateboarding in Ireland.”
Jack Knowles is the first of Gallery Asna’s ‘open call’ artists, selected from a field of over 50 applicants, to show in 2022.
Thady Trá, ‘What I See’:
January 15-29
Jack Knowles, ‘The Chess Tables’: February 5-26
Gallery Asna, Clonakilty Arts Centre, 2 Asna Square, Clonakilty. Mon-Sat, 11-5.
