Among the dregs of daily toil

Alan Magee

February 06 - March 15 2020

The LAB Gallery is pleased to present Among the dregs of daily toil, an exhibition of new work by Alan Magee. Encompassing a diverse range of processes, from Virtual Reality, Robotics, Video and Ceramics, this exhibition explores ideas of technology, materiality and the agency of the labouring body.

Among the dregs of daily toil evolved from a broader exploration into the social and cultural role of technology and the value of labour. Noting, that as technological advancements in AI and Automation increasingly become the dominant mediators of human experiences and practices, we become less aware of the material nature of things.  Our physical understanding of materiality decreases with our reliance on advances in automation. This exhibition and accompanying events programme seeks to explore the relationship between what is handmade and automated or the virtual and the material as we consider the future of our labour, skills and the value of human or automated time.

This body of work was developed during his residency at Fire Station Artists’ Studios, where Magee was one of the 2019 Sculpture Awardees.

Bio:

Alan Magee was born in Ireland and lives and works between Dublin & London. He holds an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, London, and a BA from TU Dublin (DIT), Ireland. Awards include; Fire Station Artists’ Studios -Sculpture Bursary Award, Florence Trust Studio Residency; Arts Council Ireland Travel and Training Awards. He has notably exhibited at White Cube, London; Castor, London; Xi’an Academy, China and LCGA, Limerick. Magee is currently a lecturer at Wimbledon College of Art and Design, a PhD scholarship awardee at TU Dublin, and is represented by Castor (London).

Magee’s practice crosses many disciplines from sculpture, installation and drawing, to a variety of lens-based media. Often addressing issues that arise from the politics of power, labour and technology, Magee’s playful, often absurdist compositions juxtapose bodies and objects, high art, and everyday life.