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ROADMAP TÁIN “He was like all interfering druids
who lie on their wattles, with their chants and their moans, with their eyes rolling back in their heads. They have meetings with death, or so they say. After, they come back to the world supposed to be wise and able to tell everyone what to do; predictions that are supposed to prevent terrible things from happening. But maybe their big oracle gibs are the cause of what happens instead of the cure.” The Táin is an epic from Irish mythology often likened to The Iliad. Set in the first century it tells the tale of a war against Ulster by Queen Meadhbh of Connacht and her husband King Ailill who intend to steal Bó Cúailnge in a ‘raid’. Now it is retold in 11 chapters, from the perspectives of the women, by Karina Tynan, accompanied by illustrations by her daughter Kathy. “The stories capture the hearts and souls of the women, bringing them alive in a deeply personal way, through a backdrop of death and slaughter,” says Tynan as she attempts to retrieve a tale “locked into definiton” with presumptions such as the “promiscuousness and hedonism” of Queen Meadhbh. Táin: The Women’s Stories is published by Bard Mythologies, €25, available from karinatynan.com and in the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Winding Stair, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios and Connolly Books. REFLEX Visual artist (and former Totally Dublin art director) James Kelleher has released Reflex, “ten views of the cataclysm” made using a text-toimage neural network. “I’ve been using AI tools as part of my creative process for the past couple of years and it’s clear that this technology will cause - is causing - significant upheaval for artists and for the way we look at art. How big an upheaval though? It’s not clear if we’re facing into the wrenching social tumult of a Gutenberg press or the more gentle revolution of a Photoshop 1.0. There’s a little of that vertiginous what-comes-next dread in these landscapes, a bit of body horror (I’m incredibly squeamish about eyes), and a very generous helping of planetary catastrophe.” Limited edition of 100 signed and numbered, €100 pilcrow.ie 6