Ella Bertilsson, Kathy Tynan, Emily Waszak Faigh Amach

Faigh Amach (discover) is a new initiative by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios in partnership with Culture Ireland and Southwark Park Galleries (SPG), London, to support an artist in presenting their first solo exhibition outside Ireland.

A group exhibition at TBG+S in Summer 2025 brings together three artists selected through an open call process: Ella Bertilsson, Kathy Tynan, Emily Waszak. One of the three exhibiting artists will be invited to present their first international solo exhibition at SPG Lake Gallery in Spring 2026. During the planning and duration of Faigh Amach, SPG Director Judith Carlton and Deputy Director Charlotte Baker will conduct in-person and online studio visits with the three artists, as well as visiting the exhibition at TBG+S.

Ella Bertilsson uses images and materials related to pop culture and the aesthetics of nostalgia to evoke a shared sense of memory and place. Her installations, which often incorporate film and performance, use the visual language of magical realism and absurdism to conjure darkly humorous and dreamlike sensory environments. The clash of bizarreness and naivety reflects the impact of anxiety and precarity in everyday life.

Ella Bertilsson was born in Umeå, Sweden, and works in Dublin and Callan, Kilkenny. Her recent and upcoming solo exhibitions include The Horse, Dublin (2025); Ballina Art Centre (2024); The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon (2023); The Complex, Dublin (2022).

Kathy Tynan’s paintings of familiar cityscapes and domestic scenes illuminate moments of affection, intimacy and curiosity. Rather than focussing her gaze on monumental landmarks, Tynan instead attributes value to that which is otherwise overlooked. Her semi-autobiographical subjects include her own family and friends but speak more broadly to shared enthusiasms, experiences of care, community, and relationships.

Kathy Tynan was born and works in Dublin. Her recent solo exhibitions include Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2024); Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise (2022); Highlanes Gallery (with Andrew Vickery), Drogheda (2020); The LAB, Dublin (2019).

Emily Waszak’s textile and assemblage works are informed by rituals of her Japanese cultural heritage, experiences of grief and the landscape of her home in Ireland. Using both ancient and contemporary weaving techniques, alongside the collection and display of found materials and other hand-made objects, Waszak combines processes that transcend time and place to find meaning in loss and understand how to access otherworldliness.

Emily Waszak was born in North Carolina, United States, and works between Dublin and Donegal. Her recent solo exhibitions include Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny (2025); Pallas Projects, Dublin (2024); TU Dublin (2023).

Southwark Park Galleries is an interdisciplinary arts organisation in South East London. Through a locally relevant and internationally significant programme of exhibitions, performances and public engagement, their mission is to connect people using the intersection of art, nature and culture to facilitate meaning and wellbeing across communities. Established in 1984, they have a thriving reputation as a test site for experimental practice by commissioning artists at a critical stage to make their most ambitious work for exhibition.

www.southwarkparkgalleries.org