Lure Of The Damp Squid: Dublin Contemporary Exhibition Ends

THOUSANDS OF art lovers turned out yesterday for the last day of Dublin Contemporary: Terrible Beauty – Art, Crisis, Change,one of the most ambitious international exhibitions staged in Ireland.

For six weeks, the works of 114 artists, Irish and international, have been showcased around the city, including in the main exhibition venue on Earlsfort Terrace.

“The responses [by the public to the shows] in a lot of cases have been a big surprise to us,” said project director Leslie Tully.

The range of visitors extended beyond the usual contemporary art crowd, she said, and included everyone from schoolchildren to the elderly.

While official figures have yet to be collated from all the partner venues, it was looking like the targeted number of 150,000 visitors would likely be surpassed, she said.

In addition, Dublin Contemporary had set a target of 2,500 overseas visitors to come specifically for the exhibition, but an estimated 3,200 made the journey.

“We’re very surprised we were over the target,” Ms Tully added.

Among the most popular exhibits has been the eerily life-like giant ceramic squid by David Zink Yi; the Green Coffin by Thomas Hirschhorn, in which the planet-as-coffin, with its excesses and problems, is held aloft by a mass of arms reaching up; and a giant interactive cradle, Le Berceau, by Chinese artist Wang Du.

Yesterday, as a parting gesture, the public got a chance to pay what they wanted to see the exhibitions one last time.

Paul McBride said he paid €20 for himself and his wife and their three children. “I really enjoyed it. There is so much to see. It is a pity that it isn’t coming back.”

Clare Quinlan said she was initially put off by the €15 charge which had turned a lot of people off, when €10 might be a more appropriate fee. However, she added: “They did very well to pull it together in six months.”

Orla Duggan said she and her partner paid €10 each to see the exhibition. “I’m not a massive fan of modern art. It is extremely impressive if not totally my cup of tea.”

Joe McManus also paid €10. “It looked wonderful. I’d love to see more of this kind of stuff,” he said.

Dublin Contemporary received €2 million from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Ms Tully said it was too early to say if taxpayers would have to make up for any funding shortfall, but that they had reached the sponsorship targets.