The Virtual Lectures presents: Stéphane Béna Hanly, 'Performative Lecture'

Stéphane Béna Hanly is a multidisciplinary artist. His practice, which manifests through objects and concepts from a mixture of otherworldly observations and fictional scenarios, is fundamentally rooted in the issue of the scales of Time and Space and the infinitesimally tiny place we occupy in both. Exploring these two perceived pillars of reality, Stephane tries to quantify the vast potential of human experience by envisaging an existence far beyond the scope that we can currently withstand.

In this multimedia 25 minute talk Stéphane will discuss his practice and what drives it while lightheartedly attempting to tackle unfathomably vast concepts that dwell in the temporo-physical plane. Displaying the processes involved producing artworks, Stéphane will perform the act of artmaking and describe the goals and obstacles encountered in that journey, blending the practice of performance and lecturing to form a sort of Performative Lecture.

The Virtual Lectures is a research project initiated and curated by artist Frank Wasser which seeks to examine, complicate and expand the form of the lecture within and outside the parameters of what constitutes as artistic research. Artists are commissioned to create a lecture which is shown online for a limited period at www.thevirtuallectures.com and accompanied by a live event.

The Virtual Lectures is supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, Project Award and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.

Image. A self-portrait of Stéphane Béna Hanly, 2022.

Image Description: A black-and-white photograph of Stéphane Béna Hanly. Stephane faces directly towards the camera. He has a grey mid-parting and a tweed blazer jacket. Posing, arms crossed over one of his artworks which is mostly out of the frame. The artwork is a wooden box, open, revealing a velvet interior with an empty crystal shaped groove that would contain an object of the same shape.