Irish artist Hazel O'Sullivan is presenting her innovative 'Discworks' series as part of Dublin Gallery Weekend 2025, transforming ancient Irish artifacts into contemporary art that bridges past and present. Her work is featured in 'These Walls: Landmarks,' an exhibition at the Guinness Storehouse that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the venue while revisiting the influential ROSC exhibitions of 1984 and 1988.
The inspiration for O'Sullivan's series began with a serendipitous discovery during a birthday visit to the British Museum in February 2024. There, she encountered an Irish disc - an ancient artifact of unknown function that had been displaced from its homeland. "I started thinking what else should or shouldn't I be discovering in London, and what other Irish artifacts were there?" O'Sullivan reflected on the experience that would shape her artistic direction.
The commission opportunity came at a pivotal moment for the artist. O'Sullivan received a call from Muireann O'Sullivan while installing her solo exhibition 'Circa Ré' at The Kerlin Gallery in Dublin. The call described an opportunity connected to the legacy of the ROSC exhibitions (1967-88) at the Guinness Storehouse, which had introduced ambitious Irish and international art to Dublin audiences decades earlier.
O'Sullivan's research process involved extensive archival work at the Guinness Archive, where Heritage Manager Eibhlin Colgan provided access to original documents and photographs. The artist's connection to Guinness runs deep through her family - her grandfather founded a motor rewinds company that often worked for Guinness, her mother now owns and operates that business, and her father worked as an electrical technician at Guinness for nearly 16 years. "It felt nostalgic and familiar to be in the area and in the archives," she noted.
Through her research, O'Sullivan discovered that the original ROSC exhibitions were controversial for several reasons, particularly the 1967 and 1971 shows that featured no Irish artists and few female artists. She was particularly drawn to the Celtic Art exhibition that ran alongside ROSC '67 at the National Museum of Ireland. In that exhibition's catalog, she found the same type of Irish disc she had encountered in London - one of seven Monasterevin-type discs, six of which are held at the National Museum of Ireland.
The discovery of seven Irish discs proved perfect for her commission to create six unique artworks. O'Sullivan explains her artistic approach: "I wanted the discs to be reimagined in my work not exactly as themselves, but as iterations of all six in each painting, reinterpreted as futuristic entities or devices that expand on that mysterious function." The 'Discworks' undergo digital scanning at Cultural Heritage Digitisation in the UK as part of the creative process.
The research process also led O'Sullivan to recognize the Modernist tone in her own work, which she attributes to her Euro-American arts education. Many of the ROSC featured artists had been among her favorites during university studies. This realization prompted deeper contemplation about "agrarian societies and how current contemporary art practices have generationally formed despite industrial conditions that shaped modernism elsewhere."
O'Sullivan sees her work as representing "an Irish approach to Modernist Abstraction and Atomic Age aesthetics (reimagined as relevant again in this era)" that has become an increasingly important fixture in her practice. The 'Discworks' series serves as a homage to the supplementary Celtic art exhibition of ROSC '67, celebrating both ancient Irish heritage and contemporary artistic innovation.
The artist expresses gratitude for the opportunity to showcase these reimagined discs as centerpieces alongside incredible works by fellow artist Niall de Buitléar. 'These Walls: Landmarks' runs at the Guinness Storehouse Dublin from November 7th through 9th as part of Dublin Gallery Weekend 2025, offering visitors a unique blend of historical reflection and contemporary artistic vision.
