Humans and Other Animals

Abstract

Janet Mullarney is a unique publication, a compilation of short personal tributes to the artist, and a complete and concise archive of her works from 1962 to 2019. Designed by Vermillion, the book is lavishly illustrated with full-page colour photographs of Mullarney’s work, some in detail and in installation, offering the reader unprecedented insights into the range and diversity of her output over the years. As a consequence, the publication is primarily visual in its impact. A suite of photographs of Mullarney’s My Minds i exhibition at the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda in 2015 captures one of her most idiosyncratic and memorable installations. A range of small figures cast enormous shadows on the screen behind them. In contrast the 2010 RHA exhibition Things Made is on a more epic scale, highlighting the diversity of Mullarney’s work and its unique blend of traditional craftsmanship and fantastical imagination. Another image shows Mullarney at work in her studio, a seemingly chaotic and industrial space, where a cupboard painted Tuscan pink hits a familiar note. Another reveals a glimpse of the interior of the artist’s Italian home, where in a spartan white-walled space her large figurative sculptures add an otherworldly dimension. A photograph of the young Mullarney in 1985, shows her reclining amongst a group of her life-size wooden figures. They appear as companions and confidants, revealing of the purpose and meaning of her work.