Alastair MacLennan

PROJECT: “One Four Six” June 15 @ 7pm Gallery

Art, as the demonstrated wish and will ‘towards’ resolving inner and outer conflict, be it spiritual,religious, political, personal, social, cultural…or any interfusion of these.

ARTIST TALK: June 12 @ 2-4pm Society for Arts

photos by J Hastings | www.vads.ac.uk/collections/maclennan

In 1997 Alastair MacLennan (UK/Ireland) represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale, with inter-media work commemorating the names of all those who died as a result of the Political Troubles in Northern Ireland, from 1969 to then date. During the 1970’s and ’80’s he made (some) long, non-stop durational performances, of up to 144 hours, (neither eating, nor sleeping, throughout). Subject matter dealt with political, social and cultural malfunction. Since 1975 he has been based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was a founding member of Belfast’s Art and Research Exchange (1978). Since 1975 he taught at Ulster Polytechnic, now the University of Ulster, Belfast, where for eleven years he ran the Master of Arts (MA) Fine Art programme. Currently he travels extensively in Eastern / Western Europe and Asia (also North America and Canada), presenting Actuations (performance/installations). Since 1989 he has been a member of the internationally regarded performance art entity, Black Market International, which performs globally. He is presently an Emeritus Professor of Fine Art from the University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland, an Honorary Fellow of Dartington College of Arts, Devon, England, an Honorary Associate of the National Review of Live Art, Glasgow, Scotland and a founding member of Belfast’s Bbeyond (Performance Art), 2001.