Last Friday saw the launch of Partisan’s first stand-alone exhibition and it was swell to see so many faces there!
The fantastic and incredibly lovely Hilary O’Mahony took residency in the fourth floor space from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th July with her thought-provoking exhibition whatever it amounts to’
Made in response to an overwhelmingly large number of discarded scratch cards in Southern Manchester, Hilary explored value, identity and self-pursuit in collecting and de-contextualising these found objects. To cite her own words on the exhibition: “The lottery is an emotionally charged game. It creates many conflicting feelings, most notably luck, hope and disappointment…it positions the national lottery as a lens through which [these] societal concepts are explored”.
On the launch night, we had a pay-what-you-can bar, music, tote bags for sale, highly ad hoc furniture, a good dose of mood lighting and reams of captivating conversation. Hilary was on site at Partisan HQ all weekend to discuss the works with all visitors and it was an all-round good-vibes experience!
We are also very lucky to have caught her as she moves back to Ireland this week. We wish her all the best with the move and if you are based in Éire, keep your eyes peeled for her name in any galleries or arts centres!
In the meantime, do visit her website – it’s got some great photos of the pieces included in whatever it amounts to and you can check out her work from past exhibitions as well.