SUBTOPIAN BALLAD sought to document and to capture the pulse of South Dublin County in order to illustrate the context for the IN CONTEXT 4 - IN OUR TIME programme.

Dragana Jurisic made a journey into the many areas of South Dublin County and produced a photographic portrait of the people and places from the urban to the rural within this complex county.

The identity of South Dublin County is very important for both the local authority and the community. Accepting that identity is not fixed, but fluid, changeable and complex, it is of interest to document this space and differentiate it from the rest of Dublin city and other counties.

SUBTOPIAN BALLAD is rooted in the everyday and it is exemplary of Jurisic’s ability to find a poetic thread in the mundane and the beautiful contours from the county’s many nationalities, religions, activities, local geography, politics, history and sites of interest.

Artist Biography

Dragana Jurisic works predominantly through the medium of photography, film and installation. Her practice explores the issues of gender, stereotyping and the effects of exile and displacement on memory and identity. Since receiving a distinction for her MFA in 2008, Dragana Jurisic has won a significant number of awards, bursaries and project awards, including the Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize for Special Recognition from Duke University. In December 2013, Dragana completed her PhD and finalised an important three-year long project 'YU: The Lost Country' that culminated in a critically acclaimed touring exhibition and a book. Her work is in many collections including Irish State Art Collection and she has exhibited widely both in Ireland and internationally.