TBG+S Writing Commission 2026 | Cathy Sweeney respins to Vanessa Donoso López, '(O-O-O)'
24 July — 20 September 2026
Cathy Sweeney reads her commissioned response to Vanessa Donoso López's exhibition, (O-O-O).
As TBG+S Commissioned Writer 2026, Cathy Sweeney is invited to create a series of written responses to the Gallery Programme. She reads her response to Vanessa Donoso López's exhibition, (O-O-O) which she has titled the piece after. The exhibition, (O-O-O), took place at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, 24 July — 27 September 2026.
Sweeney reflects on the experience of living in different rental accommodation. She was inspired by Donoso López's exhibition, where much of her active studio on the third floor of Temple Bar Gallery + Studios was decamped to the ground floor Gallery. The mismatched furniture, studio lighting and artefacts of Donoso López's daily life were interspersed with artworks and other refined objects. The resulting immersive installation included hundreds of ceramic vessels, clay handhelds, glazing and firing samples, clay-dyed fabrics, tiles, drawings, beads, kinetic sculptures, water features, lamps, research materials, test pieces, and studio ephemera. Through the installation Donoso López explored identity, migration, and cultural behaviours shaped by relocation and adaptation. Sweeney responds by reflecting on the act of moving, the experience of living with objects of past inhabitants, and how frequent relocation can alter ones relationship with the meaning of home.
This short film is by Ros Kavanagh, produced by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.