Athlone's Luan Gallery to launch book from current exhibition this weekend

Luan Gallery is to launch a book of photography featured in its current exhibition At The Gates of Silent Memory by Clare Langan.

The launch will take place in the gallery in Athlone this Saturday, April 1, at 2pm, and will involve a discussion between Ms Langan, guest curator Eamonn Maxwell and Luan Gallery's curator, Aoife Banks.

The official launch will be followed by a tour of the exhibition by Mr Maxwell. All are welcome to attend.

Since last month, Luan Gallery has been hosting At The Gates of Silent Memory, a solo photography exhibition by Ms Langan, who is an internationally acclaimed Irish artist. The show is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and continues until Thursday, April 20.

Known for her expansive and award-winning film projects, which have been seen in galleries, museums, biennales, and film festivals across the world, Ms Langan has a parallel photography practice using digital SLR and the unique Hasselblad XPan cameras.

These images are taken in locations around the world including Dubai, Iceland, Kerry, and Monserrat, reflecting the artist's practice and environmental concerns. This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a significant body of her photography practice in a municipal gallery.

The curator, Eamonn Maxwell, commented: "In a sensory and information overloaded world, Langan’s poetic approach to her subjects quietly leaves us with a vision of a planet going through a profound transformation, of a world on which we tread gently, lest it disappears into memory."

Reading groups are taking place during the exhibition, led by Athlonian, Leah Moloney, the founder and creator of Between Two Books, the official book club of Florence and the Machine.

The reading groups discuss selected works of fiction and poetry, and their relevance to the themes of climate change and speculative fiction present throughout Clare Langan’s At The Gates of Silent Memory.

The next reading group will take place on Saturday, April 15, from 12pm to 2pm at Luan Gallery.

To register for the reading group and to receive the selected texts, please email: info@luangallery.ie

Booking in advance is advised, as places are limited for the readings that will take place in Luan Gallery.