IN THE FRAME 206
Venus of Meath Street
“I love Meath Street, it is one of the last areas that still feels like old Dublin. There’s a sense of community that has become rare. Locals mingle and chat in doorways.
Market traders have the craic with each other on the street. Horse drawn carriages still traverse the road. It has changed a lot in the past 10 years but that sense of community and character remain strong.
On a Friday you’ll often see ladies having their hair done in a salon opposite the church. This lady was outside having a smoke break while waiting for the dye to take.
To me the subject is reminiscent of Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ (maybe his model having her hair dyed before being painted). The positioning of hands and tilted chin elongate the image, the hood and the red gown also bring to mind El Greco’s painting ‘Mary Magdalene in Penitence’.
There’s something vaguely religious about the composition. The image was compelling to me, it looked like a painting, exaggerated by the window framing the subject. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time to capture this Venus of Meath Street.”
Words and Images: Lorcan Finnegan
This photo is part of a photography book accompanying a solo exhibition called Dublin Streets by Lorcan Finnegan which will be exhibited in Hang Tough Contemporary, Exchequer Street, from Sept 1- 18. The accompanying book and prints will be available in the gallery and from hangtough.ie/shop
