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IN THE HEART OF DARKNESS In 2013, Daragh Soden sp
ent six months teaching in a school in a small town in Ghana, West Africa. In 2018, he returned to make this series of photographs. In The Heart Of Darkness is inspired by the death of a young boy during Soden’s first visit to Ghana. Daragh writes, “It all started with Nelson. I was teaching in a primary school in a small town in the Volta Region of Ghana. One afternoon we had an impromptu photo shoot where the kids would draw their own backdrops with chalk on the blackboard and I would make their portrait in front of it. They got such a kick out of seeing their picture on the little screen on the back of my camera. They were some of the first photographs I ever made. This is Nelson’s portrait. A few weeks later one of the boys knocked on my door while I was eating breakfast at dawn. Nelson had died he said. He was sick at home for a few days but got much worse the day before. He died soon after he reached the hospital that night. For the next few days Nelson’s friends and neighbors would come to look at the picture of Nelson on the little screen on the back of my camera. There was a local photographer at the funeral taking pictures of relatives beside Nelson’s body, which was upright in a chair. Nelson’s father gestured for me to take a picture of the body. So, I did. At the end of the funeral the boys wore their school football shirts and carried the coffin across the pitch towards the graveyard.” daraghsoden.com, £19.50 MUSEUM Renowned poet, Paula Meehan and awardwinning photographer, Dragana Jurišic have joined forces to create a book celebrating the varied history of, and the lives lived in, 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin’s museum of social history. Paula Meehan’s new poetry sequence was commissioned in 2017 by Dublin City Council as part of a creative development project. The following year photographer Dragana Jurišic was invited to collaborate and respond to the poetry and to the house. The result is Museum, a 68-page book, featuring 11 sonnets inspired by the house, with accompanying photography taken in and from the house. €18 available from 14henriettastreet.ie ROADMAP Michael McDermott Good optics… we’re thrilled to see a pal of ours Cian Murphy find a home for his vinyl shop. 72 Francis Street, Dublin 8 opticmusicshop.com REUZI SWIM ‘Sustainable living made simple’ is the mantra of Reuzi which is spearheaded by Rio de Janeiro native Patricia (Pat) Kane, now based in Dublin with her husband. Pat has been on a four-year-long journey to become as zerowaste as possible in her home. The welcome offshoot for everyone else is their online platform which promotes alternative solutions and fosters new habits in communities. They are available for house calls or eco parties, have a growing list of corporate clients and are set to open their first physical shop space in Foxrock this month. reuzi.ie Dublin’s iconic Liffey Swim takes place for the 100th time at the start of this month and Damn Fine Print are marking the occasion with a new show, a pop-up gallery and a city centre launch party to celebrate. Started in 1920, the Liffey Swim is one of those uniquely Dublin spectacles that has inspired generations of artists, photographers and painters. Featuring the works of super talented creatives Annie Atkins, Steve Simpson, Niall McCormack, Fuchsia MacAree, Alan Dunne, Conor Nolan, Peter Donnelly, M&E (pictured) and Steve McCarthy. Om Diva, Drury Street until Tuesday August 13 and Damn Fine Print HQ in Stoneybatter thereafter. Prints €90 each unframed, or €140 framed. 10