Gallery of Photography Ireland is delighted to present a retrospective exhibition by photographer Pete Smyth featuring work from his extensive photography project documenting aspects of life in Tallaght, West Dublin.
LOCAL invites us into a forgotten corner of contemporary Ireland - Tallaght, on the periphery of Dublin - where Pete Smyth has lived and worked for over thirty years. Smyth's uniquely intimate account captures the richness and humour of a community at the frontline of Ireland's rapid modernization. His approach is deeply affectionate, but without sentimentality, inviting us into private spaces, moments of quiet drama - and some wild nights in his local, the Killinarden House pub.
A bittersweet celebration of a community, and a soulful exploration of our universal need to belong, LOCAL adds a vital and previously neglected point of view to the canon of Irish photography.
LOCAL by Pete Smyth is at the Gallery of Photography until January 12th 2020.
Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 X406
Founded in 1978, Gallery of Photography Ireland has established a reputation as one of Ireland’s leading cultural institutions. We are the national centre for photography.
The Gallery’s core mission is to provide a platform and a representative voice for photography in Ireland. Though our programme of exhibitions, talks and events we strive to develop a wider appreciation for this diverse, challenging medium.
By drawing on a broad range of work from Irish and international artists, we show how photographers enable us to see the world in new ways and touch on the most profound issues of contemporary life. Our legacy as an institution means we are ideally positioned to consider where photography has been and where it might go in the future.
We actively seek to engage new audiences by promoting a greater awareness of the medium in Ireland – we want our visitors to love photography as much as we do.
The Gallery also supports Irish photographers by fostering a dynamic culture of photographic practice.
