Samuel Laurence Cunnane works with analogue photography, capturing places, people and plants with a detached “floating eye” perspective. Whether in Guangzhou, Tehran, the Balkans, or his native Kerry, Cunnane is drawn to the unnoticed periphery: the outskirts of the city, where plants battle with concrete; the edges of housing developments, where newly built homes surround mounts of upturned earth; the frontier between interior and exterior, demarcated by fences, windows, topiary. His photographs deromanticise the popularly sentimental, with landscapes interrupted by utilitarian infrastructure, and yet their sensitivity to light, framing and texture give them a cinematic quality. Responding to the increasingly dematerialised nature of contemporary image making, Cunnane remains connected to the physicality of the production process, printing his photographs by hand in a darkroom. The resulting C-type prints are relatively small in size, resonating with the restrained, intimate nature of the work.
Samuel Laurence Cunnane lives and works in Berlin and Kerry.
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Shannon, 2020
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
17.8 x 25.5 cm / 7 x 10 in image size
40.2 x 48 cm / 15.8 x 18.9 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Annina bruise, 2019
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
25.5 x 17.8 cm / 10 x 7 in image size
40.2 x 48 cm / 15.8 x 18.9 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Bird Statue, 2019
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
17.8 x 25.5 cm / 7 x 10 in image size
40.2 x 48 cm / 15.8 x 18.9 in framed
Collection of Office of Public Works, Ireland
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Steel Rope, 2019
hand-printed silver gelatin print, edition of 3 + 1AP
27.8 x 37.5 cm / 10.9 x 14.8 in image size
50.5 x 60.4 cm / 19.9 x 23.8 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Siobhán 1, 2019
hand-printed silver gelatin print, edition of 3 + 1AP
27.8 x 37.5 cm / 10.9 x 14.8 in image size
50.5 x 60.4 cm / 19.9 x 23.8 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Site 1, 2019
hand-printed silver gelatin print, edition of 3 + 1AP
27.8 x 37.5 cm / 10.9 x 14.8 in image size
50.5 x 60.4 cm / 19.9 x 23.8 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Green River, 2019
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
22.5 x 30.6 cm / 8.9 x 12 in image size
45 x 53 cm / 17.7 x 20.9 in framed size
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Metal bar, 2019
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
25.5 x 17.8 cm / 10 x 7 in image size
40.2 x 48 cm / 15.8 x 18.9 in framed size
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Trees in water, 2017
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
18.7 x 25.5 cm / 7.4 x 10 in image size
41.4 x 48.2 x 3 cm / 16.3 x 19 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Bag of cut grass, 2016
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
12.7 x 19.1 cm / 5 x 7.5 in image size
31.7 x 38.2 x 3 cm / 12.5 x 15 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Decathlon, 2019
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
22.5 x 30.6 cm / 8.9 x 12 in image size
45 x 53 cm / 17.7 x 20.9 in framed size
Collection of Arts Council of Ireland
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Celia looks out the window, 2016
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
10.2 x 15.2 cm / 4 x 6 in image size
27.6 x 32.6 x 3 cm / 10.9 x 12.8 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Mary, 2016
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
10.2 x 15.2 cm / 4 x 6 in image size
27.6 x 32.6 x 3 cm / 10.9 x 12.8 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Kitchen, Rue de Corinthe, 2013
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
15 x 10 cm / 5.9 x 3.9 in image size
33.2 x 28.2 x 3 cm / 13.1 x 11.1 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Legs, 2013
hand-printed C-type print on archival photo paper, edition of 3 + 1AP
10 x 15 cm / 3.9 x 5.9 in image size
28.2 x 33.2 x 3 cm / 11.1 x 13.1 x 1.2 in framed
Samuel Laurence Cunnane has been the subject of exhibitions at Kerlin Gallery (2020); OCT Boxes Museum of Art, Shunde, China (2018), Öktem&Aykut, Istanbul (2017); Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2016) and THEODORE: Art, New York (2015). Recent group exhibitions and projects include National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (2019) and Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda (2018). Cunnane’s work can be found in the collections of OCT Boxes Art Museum, Shunde, China; The TIA Collection, Sante Fe, USA; the National Gallery of Ireland; the Arts Council of Ireland; the Trinity College Art Collection, Dublin. A publication with a text by Brian Dillon, Professor of Creative Writing at Queen Mary University of London, was published in 2020 and is available online here.
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
BEADS, 2023
Stations, Berlin, Germany
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Samuel Laurence Cunnane, 2018
OCT Boxes Art Museum, Shunde, China
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Samuel Laurence Cunnane, 2016
Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Samuel Laurence Cunnane, 2015
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Samuel Laurence Cunnane
Fortnightly Features Presents, 2014
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Meet Samuel Laurence Cunnane, he specialises in creating prints by hand using analogue photographic techniques.
Samuel Laurence Cunnane and Ailbhe Ní Bhriain are both included in THIS RURAL, curated by Miriam O’Connor & Paul McAree.
Artists: Dorje de Burgh, Samuel Laurence Cunnane, Aleana Egan, Louise Hopkins, Seda Mimaroğlu, Cecilia Szalkowicz
