Subversive souvenir shop offers fresh view on 1916

Rise Up baking powder, tins of Peas Process, Padraig Pearse Pasta Sauce, Black and Tan Boot Polish, and a range of pastel balaclavas that double up as tea-cosies are among the items being exhibited in Galway City’s West End, as part of the official 1916 commemorations.

The Souvenir Shop is the work of Belfast artist Rita Duffy and the exhibition is being housed in Number 9 Henry Street in a former sweet shop, which still retains its thatched roof.

Drawing on the idea of the tobacconist shop owned by Proclamation signatory Thomas Clarke, The Souvenir Shop is a place of exchange and ideas. Visitors can buy surreal, openly provocative art by Duffy, made with the support of the Cavan Arts Office and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA).

The exhibition consists of a range of everyday products that are surreal and poignant, absurd and humorous.  More than 50 different exhibits are displayed and each is accompanied by an explanation which highlights the legacy of 1916, its high points and low points, its relevance and its failures.  The objects also reflect on World War I, where many Irish people lost their lives – including Rita’s grandfather – and the Northern Troubles.

By doing this, Rita connects histories that are often remembered and commemorated in a vacuum, with no connection to what was happening at the same time or what came afterwards.

The Souvenir Shop also explores how the 1916 commemorations have been commodified, and how complicated, sometimes unfinished stories are appropriated and distorted.

Her work addresses concerns about the Rising, the impact of World War I, colonisation, the Catholic Church, the Troubles, even up to the 8th Amendment, as she draws a direct line from Pearse and Connolly through the 20th and now 21st century history of Ireland.

The Souvenir Shop is Duffy’s unique take on 1916, a subversive view from this Belfast woman who comes from the Nationalist tradition

A short film by Art Ó Bríain, Siopa Cuimhneachan, accompanies the exhibition. It was commissioned by Splanc and broadcast on TG4 earlier this year.

The Souvenir Shop by Rita Duffy is one of the major projects commissioned by the Arts Council’s 2016 Centenary Programme. It has been supported by Cavan Arts Office and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, while Number 9 Henry St, is supported by Galway City Council, Galway Arts Centre and the West End Traders’ Association.

■ The Souvenir Shop was opened last weekend by Arts Minister Heather Humpheys and will run until November 28.