Over the past three decades, Siobhán Hapaska has created original and formally complex work, which defies categorization. Medici Lion is her first institutional solo exhibition in the Republic of Ireland and brings an ambitious new body of work developed over the past three years.
The newly commissioned sculptural body of work uses the figure of the lion to explore current crises, from the failures of democracy to ongoing conflict and wars, and the ever-present Climate crisis. Reflecting ideas of shifting power and loss, at the centre of the exhibition is a large-scale lion which extends to over four metres and is fractured in form. A universal and persistent symbol of power, the lion has prolonged associations of justice, strength, courage and military might.
Though they carry a sense of disquiet, Hapaska’s works are always a testament to the perseverance of hope, desire and longing in the face of adverse global conditions and political or spiritual unrest. Her sculptures are often undershot with a dark wit, a playfulness, and a devotion to physical objects as transmitters of empathy and emotion.
For more information about the exhibition, please visit The Douglas Hyde Gallery website.
