This isn’t a tour. It’s an escape.
You’ve probably heard about the two exhibitions:
One features six enormous, dreamlike woven tapestries—think archives, caves, ruins and ghosts, all stitched together like a surreal memory map.
The other showcases paintings of destruction from across the globe—Amazon fires, Aleppo’s rubble, border towns, forgotten violence turned into art.
They’re both currently showing at Hugh Lane Gallery (yes, the one with Francis Bacon’s actual studio). But this isn’t your usual exhibition visit.
This is about looking differently—or maybe, being looked at.
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So what is this event, really?
It’s simple. You come, you walk, and we just leave you with a few strange, playful questions.
No pressure. No tours. No one following you around with a clipboard.
Just a quiet, curious disruption.
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Things you might end up wondering:
• Why does a painting about violence look so… beautiful?
• What does a 1,000-year-old Chinese science book have to do with climate anxiety?
• If you skip the exhibition texts, can you still feel the critique?
• Is this art asking for your attention—or is it lulling you into calm?
• Are you really here to observe… or are you the one being observed?
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No explanations. No commentary. No tasks.
You can walk slowly, quickly, or not at all.
You can stay for five minutes or an hour.
It’s entirely up to you.
This isn’t about “understanding” art.
It’s about noticing how you’ve been taught to look—and maybe, choosing to look differently.
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The exhibitions (in case you’re curious):
The Dream Pool Intervals – Ailbhe Ní Bhriain
Tapestries inspired by a Chinese text from 1088.
They’re uncanny, hypnotic, and stitched with fragments of forgotten places and future ruins.
It’s like standing inside a myth that’s quietly falling apart.
La Grande Illusion – Brian Maguire
Raw, powerful paintings drawn from real-world conflict zones—Juárez, Aleppo, the Amazon.
They hit hard.
But when war becomes a painting, and the painting becomes admired… what does that mean?
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Who’s this for?
• People who overthink in galleries (and love it)
• People who hate being told what to feel
• People who suspect there’s more going on than what’s on the wall
• People who enjoy not “getting it” straight away
• People who want to wander and wonder
You don’t need to do anything.
But you might start thinking differently.
Not a Typical Exhibition Visit
It’s not about knowing art.
It’s about unlearning how you’ve been taught to see.
