Easter Sunday: Learning more about David Raymond Conroy
Today was grey and grizzly again, so after a big Easter meal, I did a bit of research on the artists whose work I found interesting in the exhibition I visited yesterday. David Raymond Conroy was one who stood out to me – his film was playing on a loop in a little side room from the main space. I wandered in to watch a few minutes, and I ended up staying for the full half hour running time! It makes sense that his work would be so enticing, as it is centred around themes of seduction and addiction. Grainy mobile phone footage is overlaid with clear, story-like voiceovers in the familiar style of a podcast. As an emerging artist, he is doing well for himself, exhibiting and performing internationally in leading galleries. However, what I most liked about his work is that this success has lent no cockiness to it – rather, it had a real honesty and earnestness. I listened to some of his performance lectures online after seeing this film, and they had a similar quality of earnest questioning as cultural critique, which I find both refreshing and effective.
I am really glad to have experienced David Raymond Conroy’s work, and I am excited to see where it goes - look out for what he does next!