At the Waterline, a new exhibition by artist and ecologist Tasneem Khan exploring the concept of islandness as a lens for change, adaptation and thinking about our relationship to place.
This exhibition emerges from an ongoing body of artistic research exploring how islands can be understood not only as geographical locations or terrain, but as spaces through which to consider ecological systems and human experience in a time of environmental instability. In these edge environments, change is often accelerated and magnified. The edges between land and water become a site of attention, a space in which to witness where systems shift, overlap and transform together.
Developed through Khan’s long-term engagement with coastal, riverine and island environments, At the Waterline brings together mixed media photography, video and text, using layering as part of a process of mapping and remapping place through experience and observation. It is the artist’s documentation of water journeys, through field-based observation and images, that functions as a form of visual note-taking. Across the work, Khan approaches the water’s edge as a threshold, where a special set of conditions provide ways of understanding connection, isolation, evolution and interdependence across systems.
The exhibition transforms into a working space: part studio, part field station. At the Waterline invites visitors into an active process of research and exploration, the gallery provides a quiet, contemplative space to encourage slow looking: a moment to pause, breathe, notice and reflect on how we encounter and understand the world around us. Alongside the works, visitors are encouraged to contribute their own observations and responses into a shared logbook. In this way, the exhibition extends beyond viewing into a collective act of mapping, creating a living text holding the thoughts and experience of all those involved.
The exhibition prompts a simple question: what becomes visible when we choose to look more slowly?
Exhibition Opening Friday 29 May, 5.00pm.
Dates: Friday 29 May – Friday June 5th
Closed on Sunday the 31st
Time: 12-6pm each day
Workshop:Climate Cartography – Tracing the Waterline
Tasneem Khan together with the Tea Houses invites you to join us for an intimate, hands-on workshop at the water’s edge, engaging with the River Nore through observation, mapping and creative response.
Inspired by Tasneem’s current exhibition, ‘At the Waterline‘, participants will work on printed maps, tracing, annotating and documenting the shifting waterline, by marking plants, soils, memories and collecting found materials. Blending art and ecology, this playful session invites you to observe closely and collectively map change as an extension of Tasneem’s exhibition process.
Open to adults with an interest in art, ecology or place. No prior experience necessary. You will come away with new ways of observing and mapping landscapes, along with your own annotated materials and a deeper awareness of how environments change and connect.
Date: Friday June 5th
Time:3pm-5pm
Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/workshop-climate-cartography-tracing-the-waterline-tickets-1989911239083?aff=oddtdtcreator
Cost: €10
Workshop for adults only (18+)
Curated by Shannon Carroll.
Presented as part of the Kilkenny County Council Arts Office Programme.
