In The Gallery, 21 Arran Street East, Dublin 7, D07YY97

Preview: 27 June 6pm - 8pm

Exhibition Run: 28 June - 7 July

Gallery Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday 12pm - 5pm

Why, in the name of all that is silent and good, does my washing machine emit a series of beeps to announce the cessation of its labours? As if the abrupt halt of that thunderous spin cycle, which btw shakes the kitchen like a minor earthquake, would escape my notice! And why, pray tell, must my laptop greet me with a jaunty jingle each morning, as though it were a butler in a pantomime? And let us not even begin on Iarnród Éireann, that tireless herald of doom, forever intoning its twin commandments: Thou shalt not abandon thy belongings, nor shalt thou squat in a seat that hath been pre-ordained by the gods of online booking.

The world, my dear interlocutor, is a cacophonous bazaar of beeps, chimes, and dire warnings. Every device, it seems, has taken upon itself the sacred duty of informing us of things we either already know or would be better off not knowing. The modern person is a creature besieged by noise, assailed from all sides by the ceaseless chatter of screens, the yammering of advertisements, the electronic nagging of unfinished tasks. Her phone bleats news at her, her inbox whimpers for attention, and even her music player, in a fit of algorithmic presumption, suggests songs she might like, as if she hadn't had enough on her plate already.

And yet, and yet!.. silence persists. It lurks in the corners of our world, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be heard. My dear visitor, this exhibition - this small photo poem, is an ode to those rare and fleeting moments when time itself seems to pause, when the absence of sound becomes a presence, thick as fog. In a universe that insists on shouting itself hoarse, these photographs are an invitation to lean in close, and hear nothing at all.

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Maria Maarbjerg is a visual artist based in Dublin, working primarily with photography and text. Her practice explores questions of national identity and societal change. A graduate of Fatamorgana – The Danish School of Photography, known for its emphasis on cultivating a unique photographic language, Maarbjerg’s work remains deeply influenced by this school. Her images are distinguished by their sense of composition and form.

Maarbjerg holds a Bachelor (Hons.) in Fine Art from the Dublin School of Creative Arts at Technological University Dublin. In 2020, her graduation piece was awarded with an RDS Visual Art Award, and she has since received multiple awards and residencies, including A4 Sounds Studio’s We Only Want the Earth Studio Residency and the Fire Station Residential Studio Award.

Her work has been exhibited in Denmark and Ireland. In 2022, she presented her solo exhibition, 'Ode to Changes' at the RHA in Dublin, and she was a part of the group show 'All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun' in Dublin Castle earlier this year.

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Exhibition statement by Maria Maarbjerg

Image courtesy Maria Maarbjerg

Supported by the Arts Council