Study For Hide & Seek
Study For Hide & Seek
Signed Print
Conor Harrington
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93 x 70cm, Edition of 150, Screenprint
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Meaning & Analysis
Executed on Somerset Satin fine art paper, Study For Hide & Seek (2018) by Conor Harrington is a screen print with varnish gloss on a deckled edge depicting a middle-aged man who holds a Venetian mask in his hands. The print was released in an edition of 150 and continues the thread introduced in Grab Your Guise (2016) and Head of State (2017), the earlier colour screen prints that represent the Irish artist’s exploration of masculinity and effects of cultural stereotypes on the modern man.
The dynamics of role-playing and impression-making are key to this work, in which a central position of the Venetian mask hints at the pressure of social norms and the atmosphere of anxiety the male figure has been immersed in. As the man holds the prop in front of him, the viewer cannot be sure whether the ongoing act is one of assuming a mask or taking it off. The closed eyes of the figure may suggest that the short moments of wearing a natural expression are too vulnerable for the man to directly confront the viewer’s gaze. The predominant presence of grey tones combined with traces of dynamic brushstrokes and dripping paint deepen the dramatic overtone of the print with its emphasis on the imprisonment in the world of appearances.