Caught in a State

May 1991
In a State: An Exhibition on National Identity, Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin

Kilmainham Gaol is a famous building in Dublin where Irish freedom fighters were imprisoned and executed in the Easter Rising of 1916.

In this on-site exhibition each artist was offered a cell to work in.

Caught in a State: The door of the cell was open and inside lay a tiny pig foetus in a straw manger illuminated by a green light; a nativity scene. A paper calendar hung on the wall showing images of an adult pig photographed in the same cell. In the 19th century the Irish were often lampooned as pigs by London Illustrated magazine and other British publications.