Water Lands exhibit makes a splash

Virginia library displays the wild Atlantic and tranquil Cavan lakes

Tailte Uisce/ Water Lands is the latest solo exhibition by artist Margaret McKenna, currently on display at Áras Inis Gluaire in Belmullet ahead of moving to the Virginia Library as part of the Ramor Arts Centre programme next month.

The exhibition explores the distinct personalities of two Irish water landscapes- the wild Atlantic seaboard of Mayo and the tranquil lakelands of County Cavan.

This evocative body of work was born from a 2024 residency at Áras Inis Gluaire, where Dublin-born McKenna immersed herself in the rhythms, weather, and dramatic energy of the western coastline.

Inspired by that experience, she says she began to draw comparisons with her own surroundings in Cavan, where she has lived and worked for over 25 years.

A practising artist, animator, and art tutor, she often uses natural landscape as her muse and the landscapes and the stories held within have “long fascinated” her.

In Tailte Uisce, McKenna focuses on the distinct “contrasting atmospheres and energies” associated with different areas of water- sea and lake- in mood, movement, and memory.

To reflect this, she adopts distinct painting techniques: the seascapes are rendered in bold, expressive palette knife strokes, using thick oils and acrylics to convey the raw force and sweeping energy of the Atlantic. In contrast, the lake scenes are painted with brushwork, capturing the “tranquillity and mystery” that define Cavan’s inland waters.

Tailte Uisce / Water Lands will continue to tour, with the second leg opening in October at Virginia Library.