A Reflection on Light was the outcome of a research project that began during Weir’s tenure as Artist-In-Residence in Trinity College Dublin during 2012, a three month artist residency which evolved into three years of research, development and close collaboration with TCD’s School of Physics that culminated with the film’s premier at Irish Museum of Modern Art as part of Grace Weir’s solo exhibition 3 Different Nights, recurring in 2015.

A Reflection on Light travels across three different locations and histories: the interior of Jellett’s apartment, a gallery space at IMMA, and finally the department of Physics at Trinity College, where the main protagonist of the film, Jellett’s painting Let there be Light hangs.

In order to weave together the different strands of time and space, Weir created a film that consists of a seemingly single shot that visually connects locations. This illusion, created by the technical challenge of the continuous camera shot, confronts the issue of time, and of the illusion of linear time dictated by the sequential nature of images in film. Exploring the act of making, this technical gambit serves equally as an illusion as well as an exploration of the paradoxically unique but repeatable nature of time. The visual linearity of film generates a sense of continuity that is juxtaposed by the film’s intimate voiceover by Weir addressing the multiple natures of time by traversing different fields and disciplines to present a wider context to the concerns of Jellett’s painting.

A Reflection on Light (2015)
Grace Weir
HD video
Duration: 21:00

Grace Weir is concerned with aligning a lived experience of the world with conceptual knowledge and theory. Her works unfold trajectories of thought in particular where matters of definition and temporality coalesce. Creating a dialogue between the nature of ideas and the ways in which thinking is materialised, the works frequently refer to the act of making and the mediums in which they are made, including where time itself forms the work.

One particular area of Weir’s work is her unique approach to research; based on specific encounters with objects, archives, and locations or conversations with scientists, philosophers, and practitioners from other disciplines. Weir probes the nature of a fixed identity, the relationship between reality and representation, memory and record, history and the present, underpinned by the theories and entities under her scrutiny, whether scientific, philosophical or cultural. The resulting work ranges from cinematic works and installations to experimental videos, lecture-performances and web projects.

Grace Weir studied at the National College of Art and Design, followed by a M.Sc in Interactive Digital Media at Trinity College, Dublin. She represented Ireland at the 49th International Venice Biennale in 2001. Solo exhibitions include Time tries all things, at The Gallery at the Institute of Physics, London (2019), Unfolded at Laure Genillard, London (2017) and 3 different nights, recurring, at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (2015). Selected exhibitions include Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, Finland (2019); Mahler and LeWitt Studios, Spoleto, Italy (2018); The Glucksman, Cork (2018); Artspace Boan 1942, Seoul (2017); Hessel Museum, Bard, New York (2016); De León, Bath, UK (2016); PLATO video06, Czech Republic (2016); Science Gallery, Dublin (2013); Gracelands, EVA International, Limerick (2012); Christopher Grimes Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2011); Dublin City Gal-lery, The Hugh Lane (2009); BAMOIC, Beijing (2008); The Science Museum, London (2007); Temporarycontemporary, London, UK (2005); Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK (2003). She was Artist-in-Residence at St. John’s College, Oxford in 2007 and at Trinity College Dublin in 2012.

Review | ‘Double Slo-mo, Quantum Zeno,’ by Francis McKee, published in 3 different nights, recurring, IMMA, Dublin.

Review | ‘Out of Darkness,‘ by Sam Thorne, published in 3 different nights, recurring, IMMA, Dublin.

Review | ‘Taking time and making space,’ by Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith, published in 3 different nights, recurring, IMMA, Dublin.

Interview | ‘Grace Weir in conversation with Rachael Thomas’, published in 3 different nights, recurring, IMMA, Dublin.

Review | ‘Grace Weir,’ by Isobel Harbison, Frieze, Issue 178, January 2016.

Feature | ‘ArtForum Critic’s Picks,’ by Kylie Gilchrist, ArtForum, October 2017.

Review | ‘Weir science: a stellar artistic voyage that poses big questions,’ by Gemma Tipton, The Irish Times, 21 January 2016.

Feature | ‘Grace Weir: ‘I often think through the camera,’’ by Henry Broome, Studio International, October 2017.

Image: Grace Weir, A Reflection on Light (2015) film still. HD video. Duration: 21:00