ORLA BARRY

Orla Barry is an Irish artist born in Wexford in 1969. After living in Brussels for sixteen years, she returned to the Wexford countryside on the south-eastern coast of Ireland, where she now lives and runs a flock of Lleyn sheep. This experience feeds directly into her artistic practice: using materials such as raw wool and felt, as well as gestures, situations, and forms of language drawn from agricultural life — livestock auctions, cattle markets, and farming competitions — Barry reflects on the relationship between rural life, personal identity, and the transformations of the contemporary landscape.

 Her work encompasses writing, performance, video, and sound installation, occupying a territory between the visual arts, theatre, and storytelling. Language plays a crucial role in her practice: working across different media, the artist develops a poetic and lyrical exploration of themes including the ambiguity of words, sexual identity, and the increasingly pressing disconnection between human beings and the natural environment. Throughout her career, Orla Barry has presented solo exhibitions and projects at major European institutions, including Argos in Brussels (2002), S.M.A.K. in Ghent (2005), Camden Arts Centre in London (2005), the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin (2006), CCB / Museu Berardo in Lisbon (2011, with Rui Chafes), Temple Bar Gallery + Studios in Dublin (2016), Crawford Art Gallery in Cork (2017), Quetzal Art Centre in Portugal (2017, with Rui Chafes), Mu.ZEE in Ostend (2019), and MACS / Grand-Hornu in Belgium (2024). She has also participated in major international exhibitions, including Manifesta 2 and the 39th EVA International.