DABF25 Book Launch | Sarah Pierce: Scene of the Myth

Sarah Pierce: Scene of the Myth (Walther König/IMMA, 2025) is a catalogue of thirteen works, spanning twenty years, that comprise the exhibitions from 2023-25 Sarah Pierce: Scene of the Myth, curated by Rike Frank at IMMA (Dublin), GfZK (Leipzig) and John Hansard Gallery (Southampton). The title stems from one of Pierce's essays where she describes museums and art academies as places where we reproduce and reinvent narratives across generations, geographies and times. The book, conceived in collaboration with managing editor Nathan O'Donnell, situates this expansive exhibition through installation views at the three venues, including documentation of performances and readings; a selection of texts relating to former iterations of the works, including writings by the artist, and a set of four new texts written specifically for it. It includes newly commissioned essays by Bik Van der Pol, Tirdad Zolghadr, Pip Day, and Grant Watson. In addition, included are republished texts by Clare Butcher, Zachary Cahill, Maeve Connolly, Annie Fletcher, Caroline Hancock, Mason Leaver-Yap, Sarah Pierce, and Roy Claire Potter.

Since 2003, Sarah Pierce has used the term The Metropolitan Complex to describe her project, characterised by forms of gathering, both historical examples and those she initiates. The processes of research and presentation that she undertakes demonstrate a continual renegotiation of the terms for making art and the complexities of categorising, archiving, collecting and instituting. Drives in her work include radical pedagogies, dissent and self-determination, unofficial archives, affinities and student culture, and theories of community and love found in the works of Bataille and Blanchot. Pierce is keenly invested in how research operates through institutions.

Nathan O’Donnell is a writer, curator, and co-editor of PVA (Journal + Books). His work as a critic, scholar, editor, and curator has been focused on modern and contemporary art as well as experimental publishing, and he has edited and produced several project-based publications and zines. He writes in the mode of the personal essay and has published across many journals and other outlets. Recent activities include Samuel Beckett Creative Fellow, Trinity College Dublin (2023); writer-in-residencem Maynooth University (2021–22); co-founding, with Marysia Wieckiewicz, Numbered Editions, an experimental imprint for artists’ writing (2020. Other awards and commissions include Dublin City Council, Arts Council of Ireland, IMMA, Ormston House, and South Dublin County Council.

Event location Information: This event will take place on the first floor accessible via lift and stairs. Seating will be theatre style. For further accessibility information please contact Learning + Public Engagement Curator Órla Goodwin.

Dublin Art Book Fair (4–14 December 2025) is a centre for contemporary artist books offering a wide selection of artist publications and titles from creative, small and independent publishers, both Irish or international, to browse or buy. In conjunction with the Fair, DABF presents an programme of book launches, publishers talks, and workshops, offering ways to engage and gain insight into contemporary independent and arts publishing.

DABF25 is proudly sponsored by Henry J Lyons and supported by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and RTÉ Supporting The Arts.