Relatively Long Arms, Grasping Hands

Venue: he Curiosity Cabinet at 4 Temple Bar and The Printmakers Gallery at 25 Drury Street

Date: 24th Nov 2009 - 5th Jan 2010

Opening Hours: Curiosity Cabinet is an on-street Showcase and is viewable 24/7
Printmakers Gallery: 11am – 5.30pm Monday thru Saturday

Etching and Collage artist Kate Betts

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published two-hundred and fifty years ago, on 24 November 1859. It is a seminal work of scientific literature considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology.

To celebrate the great discourse, controversy and general societal self-questioning unleashed by this radical text, Kate Betts will be exhibiting a specially created series of one-off prints in two Dublin venues; The Curiosity Cabinet – Black Church Print Studio’s on-street showcase, and The Printmakers Gallery on Drury Street.

The exhibition, Relatively Long Arms, Grasping Hands, is named for an important branching point on the Cladogram (a schematic representation of evolution) and was inspired by visits to museums of natural history around the world, particularly the soon-to-reopen Irish Museum of Natural History, and The American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Artist’s Statement
Betts’ work explores, amongst other things, the prevalence of modes of thought which rely on diametric opposition–such as the concepts of subjectivity and objectivity and the notion that there is a clear line between. The current, heated Creation-versus-Evolution stand-off is a particularly rich area of enquiry. She uses lines of symmetry in each piece as a metaphor for value-laden and dualistic debate. Her current ‘Memento Mori’ series is made of hundreds of individually handmade etchings. Betts is an accomplished draughtswoman and these incredibly detailed etchings are created by drawing from life. The various bones and other fauna specimens are etched, printed and cut out one-by-one, and pasted to create new contrasting images, often floral.

Biography
Born in Liverpool, Betts completed a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle in 1995. Upon graduation Betts was awarded a membership bursary at Northern Print Studio in North Shields. She has exhibited widely in Ireland and abroad. Her work is represented in numerous private collections including National Concert Hall, Allied Irish Bank, Northern Rock and Office of Public Works.

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