Stage Left
2019
‘Stage Left’ represents a journey of self-reflection, personal narrative, and memoirs in which the viewer completes the experience. This involves exploring memories to create fantasies that can be both humorous and disturbingly macabre. The imagery of the exhibition adopts a playful approach to examining societal taboos and challenging social issues, such as serious illness and violence. The exhibition addresses these topics through references to humour in popular culture, crafting a pastiche of humour itself.
Graham’s installation blurs the boundaries between personal experiences and narratives, championing the human imagination as a means of escaping bleak realities. The imagery draws from the traditions of Warner Brothers, Looney Tunes, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons—ubiquitous and familiar visuals that are vital for accessing the observer's unconscious memory and eliciting spontaneous reactions.
Other elements of the installation include autoethnographic drawings and collages. Graham employs familiar material culture to express personal experiences and forge connections with the viewer's collective memory.. The titles of her works also play a significant role, guiding the viewer through the thought processes involved in creating the work.
Amanda Jane Graham: Stage Left
Amanda Jane Graham is an artist and researcher concerned with social issues. ‘Stage Left’ is a trajectory of self-reflection, personal narrative, and memoirs. This involves delving into memories to create fantasies that can be humorous, macabre and disturbing.
‘Stage Left’ is an installation and a residency. The exhibition's imagery is a playful approach to looking at societal taboos and complex social issues such as serious illness and violence. The exhibition approaches these subjects through references to humour in popular culture, a pastiche of humour itself.
For more information on the exhibition, visit The Dock website - thedock.ie
Video production- pinklimevideos.ie
The Arts Council of Ireland - artscouncil.ie
Biff, 2018. Stage Left installation image.
Wile E. & Me, 2018. Stage Left floor installation.
Stage Left installation image at The Dock Arts Centre 2018-2019.
You Are Always A Chief to Me, 2014. .
Stage Left installation image at The Dock Arts Centre 2018-2019.
There's More to Me Than The Big C, 2014. .
Stage Left installation image at The Dock Arts Centre 2018-2019.

