All is Lavender
Engage Art Studios, Galway IE, 2024
Curated by Rita McMahon for The Galway International Arts Festival.
Photography: Emma Zukov
”All is Lavender” explores the intersections of value, non-dominant language, and desire through intricate queer world-building. The exhibition presents a series of sculptural works where each piece is in dialogue through material, scale, and form. O’Riordan has crafted a sculptural universe filled with mischievous figures as if caught in motion and queer architectural exteriors which are at once familiar, yet simultaneously exclude us from joining in.
Seeking to disrupt traditional representations of value linked to language and sexual desire, the exhibition draws on the aesthetics of ad hoc, failed, and kitsch value systems, such as fairground coins, club tokens, casino symbols, and discarded scratch cards.
Sculpted clay figures adorned with imagined queer figures and texts evoke the atmosphere of a club entrance, potentially or constantly in motion like a spinning coin that never settles on either side.
This sculpted universe blends Irish and queer lexicon, drawing on their individual histories of suppression, sanctuary, and shelter. Embracing the aesthetics of gay bars and clubs, the artworks celebrate sleaze and transgression in nightlife, echoing the use of playful and coded language in queer slang. Similar to how this slang captures lived experiences, these aesthetic choices embrace the diverse, deviant, and playful forms of expression, highlighting the significance of solidarity, shelter, and community within these circles.
The exhibition’s title is inspired by the multifaceted use of “lavender” in queer history, most notably in Lavender Linguistics. This field examines the language used by queer communities, encompassing slang, tone, codes, and communication styles developed to express identity, foster community, and navigate public spaces. The term “lavender” itself symbolizes linguistic reclamation and visibility, allowing queer individuals to communicate in ways that affirm their identities while also intentionally concealing meanings.
Drawing on DIY badge making and it’s connection to queer and femninist activism a badge making space was set up in the gallery’s Workspace for moments of collective production throughout the exhibition.