Knocknacarra artist to hold her first solo exhibition

Knocknacarra-based artist, Hilary Morley, is holding her first solo exhibition at Murray’s Nile Lodge from this week up until Friday May 5.

The rat-tat-tat of a rock-breaker is a stark reminder to her that the suburb of Knocknacarra is about to burst its banks again. Her once-solitary house takes its place in the tsunami of concrete that is engulfing the green fields, the twisted hawthorns and ancient stone walls of Connemara farmland to the north.

During the lull of recession, she climbed the ditches, took photographs and made charcoal drawings of the landscape. She uncovered cottages and sheds, fairy trees and met local farmers.

She lives in an estate of bungalows on the Clybaun Road, proud to call it home for over 20 years. She was anxious to seek out beauty in the repetitive housing and disjointed development that creeps up on her annually.

Having reared her family in Knocknacarra, she has a deep affection for the familiar roads and estates, and the scatter of roofs huddled close the dominant spire of the local Catholic church. She loves how the suburb raises up on a hillside bathing in extraordinary sunlight and lavendar haze of Connemara.

She has endeavoured to capture this magic in a series of small acrylic works.

The exhibition is open from 8am top 4pm, monday to Friday (closed weekends).