LOOKING GLASS: AUGUST 20-SEPTEMBER 3, 2022, CORK CITY, Ireland
Looking Glass by Ror Conaty is a site-specific visual exhibition that will span Cork City for a period of two weeks, occupying 53 billboards spread across 16 locations. Working in collaboration with Notes to Cork, Looking Glass will transform the city into one giant gallery. Using infrared photography, the exhibition exposes the beauty hidden just outside of our visual spectrum, giving people the unique opportunity to compare our waking reality with that which lies just beyond our senses, accenting the presence of overlooked nature cohabiting our urban spaces and amplifying the endurance of the natural world.Â
Alice Through the Looking Glass as Visual Inspiration
Taking its name from the novel Alice Through the Looking Glass, where the protagonist Alice traveled through her mirror to a fantastical inversion of her world; upon awakening from her dream, Alice bore a new perspective on her reality and the lens through which she views it.Â
In this way, Looking Glass will present a vantage point into a greater reality to give viewers a new appreciation of the everyday spaces they inhabit. Post-exhibition, the audience will be left with the memory of this vantage point, recalling it each time they travel through a location, recollecting the beauty they saw exposed through a conventional advertising space.Â
Street, Architecture, and Landscape Photography Across Cork
With 16 locations spanning Cork City centre and employing the vernacular of street, architectural, and landscape photography, Looking Glass will give people the opportunity to compare their perceived reality of a location with one that lies beyond their senses.
Ror Conaty is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His work comprises photography, print, and film.Â
He has worked with Adobe, Puma, U2, Denise Chaila, Dorothy  Cross, Alice Maher, Rubyworks Records, and Sargent House Records, among many others.
Conaty is renowned for his use of in-camera and practical effects, with a particular focus on humanity’s relationship with the natural world fused with influence from a bygone era of cinema. His work fuses analogue and digital processes to create abstract and ethereal plains shrouded in a tangible physicality.Â
web: rorc.ie Â
Mail: rorconaty@gmail.com
About Notes to Cork
Notes To Cork is a creative design and advertising studio headed by Al Dalton. With his background in the Arts, Al pivoted the family business and utilised his creative background to reimagine the possibilities of the outdoor advertising space. He has used his experience to help artists bring their work to the broader public and help brands tell their stories in ways that truly connect with their customers.
Looking Glass Infrared Exhibition FAQs
What Is Looking Glass About?
Looking Glass is a site-specific infrared photography exhibition by Ror Conaty in Cork City, Ireland. The project occupied 53 billboards across 16 locations, turning public advertising spaces into an outdoor citywide gallery.
Who Created Looking Glass?
The exhibition was created by Ror Conaty, a multidisciplinary artist based in Dublin whose work includes photography, print, and film. Kolari notes that his work often uses in-camera and practical effects while exploring humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
Why Does Looking Glass Use Infrared Photography?
The project uses infrared photography to reveal beauty that exists just outside the normal human visual spectrum. This lets viewers compare everyday urban reality with a hidden version of the same spaces beyond ordinary sight.
What Inspired The Title Looking Glass?
The title references Alice Through the Looking Glass, where Alice passes through a mirror into an inverted version of her world. The exhibition uses that idea to offer viewers a shifted perspective on places they already know.
What Makes Looking Glass Different From A Traditional Gallery Show?
Instead of placing images inside a gallery, Looking Glass spreads them across Cork City’s public billboard spaces. This approach makes infrared photography part of everyday movement through the city and encourages people to notice overlooked nature in urban locations.
