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1.7 Trillion Euro
Sheila Rennick, Alan Butler, John Byrne, Francis Wasser, Declan Hurley
Curated by, Peter Prendergast

Solas Nua presents Monster Truck: 1.7 Trillion Euro.
Washington DC
November 2011
Public reception November 3 from 6.30 – 8.30pm
Curated by, Peter Prendergast

“At 31 March 2011, the gross external debt of all resident sectors (i.e. general government, the monetary authority, financial and non- financial corporations and households) amounted to €1,677bn.” Source, Central Statistics Office of Ireland

WASHINGTON, DC –The Republic of Ireland has a population of 4.5 million people. The economic and political events since 2008 have propelled Ireland onto the international stage and impacted both domestic and global perceptions of Irish identity. For the first time since the foundation of the Irish Republic, Ireland has lost its sovereignty. 1.7 Trillion Euro—the number is the gross external debt of all resident sectors in Ireland (i.e. general government, the monetary authority, financial and non-financial corporations and households)—is an exhibition casting an eye over Ireland and some of the frustrations with the current social and political environment. In this exhibition by the Dublin based arts collective and gallery, Monster Truck, curator, Peter Prendergast, has brought together a group of visual artists who will engage with the ongoing narrative of “Irish” identity and who will reflect upon Ireland in a boom and bust economic state, featuring four separate snapshots of the Irish situation in disparate works dating from 2005-2011.

“Recent socio-political events have propelled Ireland onto the international stage and impacted both national and global perceptions of the Irish entity. The destabilization of our previous ‘truths’ has widely been articulated as a state of ‘crisis’ and uncertainty. Yet the dissolution of these discourses also frees us from domineering and prescriptive norms. This exhibition exposes previously obscured or ignored aspects of the nation. It opens the debate about what Ireland could become,” says Prendergast.

Monster Truck is exhibiting the work of four Irish contemporary Visual Artists: Sheila Rennick (painting), Alan Butler (drawings and video), John Byrne (video) and Francis John Luke Wasser and Declan Hurley (collaborative video). These artists have exhibited and worked consistently during the last number of years in Ireland and draw influence from contemporary culture during the boom years. The exhibition will consist of a number of new works by the featured artists. Sheila Rennick will include several A4 drawings and two large paintings. Alan Butler will work with both video and drawing: one video work and one large drawing on paper. John Byrne will present one video piece running 12 minutes. There will also be a collaborative work by Francis Wasser and Declan Hurley as part of the exhibition.

Curator, Peter Prendergast, and artists, Sheila Rennick and Alan Butler will be in residence with Solas Nua in Washington, DC, from October 28 – November 13 2011. For interviews and press requests please contact Faith Flanagan at faith@massey-media.com.

• 2011