Amelia Stein Exhibition at RHA

Amelia Stein, House by the Cliff

View new works from photographer Amelia Stein at her exhibition at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. The exhibition, ‘Erris’, comprises of two distinct bodies of work, both taken in the wild Atlantic location of the Barony of Erris in County Mayo.

This work investigates the human presence in the landscape with studies of the sky and bog. This human presence is visible in the marks in the earth left from hand cutting turf. The stacking and protection of the saved turf Stein says is “anthropomorphic”, telling the personalities of those who work the bog. An art form in itself, the cutting marks bear the hallmark of each individual turf cutter’s style and strength. Absence is a recurring theme in the photography of Amelia Stein, as can be seen in the images of the stacks of dried turf that become sculptural forms in the bare landscape.

Habitations, sometimes domestic, sometimes agricultural, and sometimes an evolution from one to the other, vie with the topography for equality under the vast sky. The weather patterns present in the North Mayo sky induce a quality of the theatrical, which is amplified in Stein’s photographs. These images are presented as large scale unframed works 1.5m X 1m and 1 X 1m respectively.

As a performing arts photographer, Stein worked in theatre and opera in Ireland from 1997  to 2000 and her signature black and white portraiture has featured widely in the music industry. Amelia Stein was elected a member of the RHA in 2004, and of Aósdana in 2006.

‘Erris’ opens 16 January and runs through 22 February, 2015, at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. Please see the link for more information.

View Amelia Stein’s work at SO Fine Art Editions.