Name/Title
Gate (from the Belfast Series)Entry/Object ID
2016.141Description
A close-up photograph of a section of a gate. The metal is rusted and in focus, while the background is out of focus. The metal of the gate forms an X and + overlapping.Context
Gate (1997), a quiet yet rigorously composed photograph, is an iconic piece from Seawright’s best known series that examines various facets of the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Gate was produced as part of a residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in which Seawright returned to his hometown of Belfast to make work about locally produced defensive architecture on the edges of housing projects in North and West Belfast during the early stages of the ceasefire. This particular gate, one of many erected throughout the city to control the flow of people, was a section the “Peaceline” in Belfast, a Berlin Wall-like barrier that divided opposing communities.
Seawright employs a shallow depth of field and flat frontal composition, filling the foreground of the frame, but giving little information about the actual location and the surrounding space. The metal girders take the shape of a Union Jack flag, a subtle indication of how politically loaded artifacts permeate the environment.Acquisition
Accession
2016.139-143Source or Donor
Barbara RubenAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Collection of DePaul Art Museum, Gift of Barbara and Tom RubenEthnography
Notes
Europe
United Kingdom
Northern IrelandLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Political opposition, Housing projects, ArchitectureDimensions
Dimension Description
overallWidth
59 inLength
59 in