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What You Need to Know: Following the announcement of her representation in July 2023, Close Gallery in Somerset, England, is presenting a solo show of work by Irish artist Trish Morrissey. Accompanied by a new essay by writer and curator Hettie Judah, the exhibition is comprised of by a range of photographic works from some of her most important series, including “Psycho Beach” (2008–2010), “The Failed Realist” (2011), and “The Successful Realist” (2017), as well as new bodies of work that are debuting for the first time at Close Gallery. On view through June 15, 2024, “Trish Morrissey” invites both followers of and those new to her work on an insightful journey through the artist’s multidimensional practice.
Installation view of “Trish Morrissey” (2024). Courtesy of Close Gallery, Somerset.
About the Artist: Originally from Dublin, Ireland, and currently based in London, Trish Morrissey (b. 1967) maintains a practice centered on performance, film, and photography, and is perhaps most well-known for her long-term series that engage with self-portraiture. She initially worked as a commercial photographer before formally studying photography at the University of the Arts, London, where she graduated in 2001. Investigating themes of identity, family, motherhood, and history, her work is imbued with elements of humor and nostalgia as well as criticism. In 2022, the Serlachius Museum Gustaf, Finland, staged the well-received solo exhibition “Trish Morrissey, Autofictions: Twenty Years of Photography and Film,” which has subsequently travelled to venues in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Trish Morrissey, Joanna Southcott’s Box (2020). Courtesy of Close Gallery, Somerset.
Why We Like It: Across all of Morrissey’s work included in her solo show with Close Gallery, there is a pervasive sense of intimacy and familiarity. As she herself is included in much of the works, namely her long-term self-portrait series but also singular works as well, the viewer is invited into the reciprocal nature of her practice. Mining both first-hand, lived experiences as well as wide-ranging archival research, Morrisey is able to capture an element of the deeply personal as well as universal simultaneously. The show on the whole presents a nuanced dialogue around self, human behavior, and evolving histories—both familial and individual.
“Trish Morrissey” is on view at Close Gallery, Somerset, through June 15, 2024.