ghn30 - Out of The Strong, Came Forth Sweetness

Out of The Strong, Came Forth Sweetness is an exhibition celebrating three decades of Gay Health Network, bringing together artworks by twenty-eight visual artists and archival materials from the organisation's history. The exhibition title draws from Samson's Riddle, an Old Testament story where Samson found a beehive within a lion's carcass; this Biblical reference invokes the shameful and moralistic language—such as "shame", "plague" and "punishment"—used by the church and tabloid media to frame the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The title also nods to the experimental industrial music group Coil, specifically the song Ostia (The Death of Pasolini), in which the phrase repeats. In this exhibition, artworks across mediums – performance, painting, photography, film, print, sculpture and installation – explore the intertwined histories of queer identity and HIV/AIDS in Ireland, honouring the grief, joy, and resilience of the nation's LGBTQ+ community.

Established by professionals working in AIDS and STI services across the island of Ireland, north and south, Gay Health Network came into being in 1994 at the former AIDS Resources Centre on Amiens Street, Dublin 1. Over the past thirty years, the organisation's peer-led initiatives have tirelessly advocated for HIV/AIDS awareness, sexual health education, and stigma reduction for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM). A selection of material from the archives of GHN's member organisations, as well as from the personal collections of individuals, is presented in this exhibition, including the Healthy, Hot & Horny guide, one of the first print resources published by the network. The founding of the network, soon after the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993, and at a time of crisis in gay men's health, reflected an urgent need to share knowledge and pool resources. From hardship and stigma, the community drew strength and solidarity.

Curator: Brian Teeling
Assistant Curator: Aisling Clark
Design: Keef Nally
Marketing: Jack O’Dea
PR: Stephen Moloney
Production: Pádraig Burke
Exhibition Technicians: Owen de Forge,
Salvatore of Lucan, Matthew Coll

Press:

GCN - ‘30 years of Ireland’s Gay Health Network celebrated in powerful new exhibition‘

GCN - ‘A look inside the GHN30 exhibition documenting Ireland's sexual health history’

University Times - ‘Out of the Strong, Into the Spotlight: Ireland’s Queer Art and Activism‘

Artists:

Kian Benson-Bailes
Alfonso Bonilla (Maremoto)
Rob Curley (Maremoto)
Caroline Mac Cathmhaoil
Maurice Clark
Richard Coghlan
Karen Donellan
Rory Draper
Neva Elliott
Mark Grehan
Bill Harris
Austin Hearne
Jordan Hearns
Breda Lynch
Áine Mac Giolla Bhríde
Martin McCann
Day Magee
Samir Mahmood
Luis Noguera
Robin O’Shea
Billy Quinn
Sabrie Reid
Alice Rekab
Padraig Robinson
Jack Scollard
Niall Sweeney
Evan Wilson

Brian Teeling About CV ContactWet Dream c-spaceThe Drift /// Parallaxin the glow of a frozen flameMe and You in The Continuum (Now: Zero)ghn30 - Out of The Strong, Came Forth Sweetness

Brian Teeling

About
CV
Contact
Wet Dream
c-space
The Drift /// Parallax
in the glow of a frozen flame
Me and You in The Continuum (Now: Zero)
ghn30 - Out of The Strong, Came Forth Sweetness