Miriam de Búrca: Noblesse Oblige

About

Noblesse Oblige features over 25 new works exploring the legacies of systems of coercion, exploitation and extraction in Europe and the US. It includes a series of new drawings about burial sites in Ireland designated for those considered ‘unsuitable’ for consecrated ground, and glass works made using an historic artform of etching into gilded gold leaf, depicting contemporary landscapes devastated by ecological disasters and recently toppled imperial statues. These themes raise questions about our need, as individuals and nations, to confront the consequences of unhindered institutional power that is now more destructive than ever.

Noblesse Oblige, a nineteenth-century French expression, refers to the obligation of the upper classes to perform duties that the disadvantaged could not. In a contemporary context, de Búrca uses this title to highlight the responsibility of those born into privilege to examine the lineage of their social and economic advantage over others, calling them to action to restore balance.

"I take inspiration from reportage that bears witness to events signifying the current state of systemic and ecological turmoil. Representing these moments from within the aesthetic and material confines of verre églomisé – an artform that harks back to the very power structures that have brought us to this point of existential reckoning – I am joining in the call to confront this legacy, and ultimately to prompt discussion about where we want to take things from here.” Miriam de Búrca.

For a complete preview of works in the exhibition please contact sales@cristearoberts.com.