Ghost-haunted land: Contemporary art and post-Troubles Northern Ireland

by Declan Long

Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ― the formal end-point of the thirty-year modern ‘Troubles’ ― contemporary visual artists have offered diverse responses to post-conflict circumstances in Northern Ireland. In Ghost-Haunted Land ― the first book-length examination of post-Troubles contemporary art ― Declan Long highlights artists who have reflected on the ongoing anxieties of aftermath.

This wide-ranging study addresses developments in video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and more, offering detailed analyses of key works by artists based in Ireland and beyond ― including 2014 Turner Prize winner Duncan Campbell and internationally acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Willie Doherty. ‘Post-Troubles’ contemporary art is discussed in the context of both local transformations and global operations ― and many of the main points of reference in the book come from broader debates about the place and purpose of contemporary art in today’s world.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 21, 2017