Okay, there’s been a lot about Mannix Flynn and the fallout from the Ryan report on this blog of late, but one last for a while, as I was invited by Mannix to in Portlaoise this evening for the launch of Padded Cell and Other Stories, which has now been cancelled, for reasons given below. So I have a special interest in this, you might say.

Now I read in The Irish Times an article obviously based on a press release from Dunamaise about the reasons for the last-minute decision to withdraw the installation from the foyer of Dunamaise.
Mannix Flynn withdraws Laois show in protest.

In the interest of balance, and to make sure it gets out there, here’s a press statement I got from Mannix:

Press Statement Mannix Flynn, Farcry Productions

In response to a statement from the director of The Dunamaise Arts Centre regarding the cancellation of ‘Padded Cell and Other Stories” by Gerard Mannix Flynn which was due open to the public on Friday 10th July 2009.

According to the Director of Dunamaise Arts Centre, Louise Donlon, the Padded Cell show was pulled because Farcry demanded that certain pieces of art be displayed in the Foyer, an area of the building which has the highest footfall, and which Director Louise Donlon maintains was inappropriate since the arts centre had a duty in terms of child protection to insist that the work be moved elsewhere.

In response to Ms Donlon’s claims, Mannix Flynn and Farcry productions would like to state that at the time the exhibition was being discussed it was agreed that the building in its entirety was to be used for exhibition of the work.
The technical team in the Dunamaise Arts centre sent Farcry measurements of all the walls we intended to use and our own technical team made several visits to the centre to plan the layout of the work. Ms Donlon has been in possession of the pieces to go on display for almost 3 months and during this time could have raised with Farcry Productions any issues she had regarding the appropriateness of, or location of whatever material was to be exhibited. No issues were raised.
If they had been, a dialogue surely would have happened before the 8th of July, two days before the exhibition was to open. Even at the late stage at which Ms Donlon did raise concerns, Farcry tried to accommodate her, but in terms of the design of the work this simply wasn’t possible.

All this apart, a defining characteristic of Farcry Productions is that, given the shameful and shaming nature of some of the subjects dealt with by the company, public display is a key part of the artistic process. Given this, and given that the Arts Centre was in possession of the work for almost 3 months in advance of the exhibition, it is difficult for us to understand how Ms Donlon was unaware of the nature of the work she was agreeing to host. The decision by Dunamaise Arts Centre to cite child protection issues in their press statement seems to us to be extremely manipulative as in the course of our discussion with Ms Donlon, the issue of child protection never arose. As Ms Donlon says in her press release Mannix Flynn has indeed got a record of standing up for the rights of children but child protection is about protecting children from harm not from truth. Clear warnings about the content of the work would have facilitated parents in making the decision they felt was appropriate for their children – it is not up to Ms Donlon or the Dunamaise Arts Centre to make this decision on their behalf. No children will be harmed by an exhibition of words. If they can read it, and if they can understand it then it can be discussed with them, openly and honestly– and that’s true child protection.

Finally, why would Farcry Productions spend time, money and energy trying to mount an exhibition if they had any inkling that the gallery which was going to host it had issues with the content going on display? Ms Donlon maintains in her press statement that she has conflicting responsibilities towards supporting artists and protecting young children, this is a conflict of Ms Donlon’s own making. Had she attended more carefully to the work she was agreeing to host, this conflict would never have arisen. It is easier now to blame the artist for being uncompromising than to take responsibility for her own negligence.

Contact Mannix Flynn: 087 4139419

farcryproductionsltd@gmail.com
www.farcryproductions.ie

Mannix is also on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mannixflynn
As am I:http://twitter.com/Philip_Casey (see side panel with Twitter widget)