From the rugged cliffs of Donegal to the vibrant streets of Dhaka, Irish artist Oona Hyland has travelled far, not only in distance, but in artistic spirit.
Where the Atlantic winds once shaped her imagination, it is now the tropical light of Bangladesh that fuels her creative inquiry.
Hyland is currently in Dhaka for an artist residency between Ireland and Bangladesh, running from October 22 to November 10, during which she has been immersing herself in local materials, textures and ideas.
Her solo exhibition, “An Duanaire: Visual Poems of the Dispossessed – From Donegal to Dhaka”, will open on November 4 at Garden Gallery Cosmos in Baridhara.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Kevin Kelly, Ambassador of Ireland to Bangladesh, and hosted by Masud Khan, Honorary Consul of Ireland.
Through An Duanaire, Hyland explores the poetic dialogue between Ireland’s wild coastal landscapes and Bangladesh’s vibrant urban and cultural fabric. Created during her residency in Dhaka, this new body of work reflects on displacement, belonging, and creative transformation through cross-cultural experience.
Ahead of her exhibition, Hyland spoke to The TIMES of Bangladesh about her journey and expectations from this artistic exchange.
“I came here to learn,” she says with a gentle smile. “Every place holds a lesson and in Dhaka, the learning feels vividly alive.”
During her stay, Hyland also delivered a lecture at the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, inviting students and practitioners to explore the evolving relationship between printmaking, materiality and cultural identity.
“I feel very fortunate to be here in Dhaka,” she said. “Residencies are intense. You’re working in a new environment with limited time but that pressure can be creative. It pushes you to respond to your surroundings, to new histories, to new languages.”
For Hyland, this creative exchange carries a historical resonance. “There’s been a long connection between Ireland and Bengal,” she noted.
“Rabindranath Tagore once visited Dublin at our national poet W.B. Yeats’s invitation. Their conversations as poets, across language and distance, still feel deeply relevant today.”
A graduate of Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL), Hyland’s practice spans printmaking, sculpture, and experimental mixed media. Her works have been exhibited internationally, earning her accolades such as the Ernie O’Malley Award, the DLR Emerging Artist Award and election to the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in London.
Her art has featured in major events including the São Paulo Biennale, the Venice Biennale, and the Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm.
“Often, contemporary art is seen as a relic of the creative process: an investigation into the nature of things through materiality. I’m interested in both acknowledging and disrupting that idea,” she explained.
Adding, Hyland said, “My work draws on traditional printmaking even as I expand into drawing, sculpture, film and video. The knowledge of printmaking, I believe, can be applied to existential questions.”
“Printmaking, to me, is about community. It’s social, tactile and generous. Sharing knowledge is part of the process; it’s how you grow and how others grow with you.”
Sourav Chowdhury, Artistic Director of Gallery Cosmos, said the residency, jointly organised by Gallery Cosmos and the Embassy of Ireland in Bangladesh, forms part of the Ireland–Bangladesh Art Exchange Programme, designed to foster cultural dialogue and artistic collaboration between the two nations.
“We’re delighted to host Oona Hyland,” Chowdhury told TIMES. “We’ve previously organised similar exchanges with artists from Russia, Romania and other countries, and each time, both our gallery and the wider art community benefit from the knowledge exchange. It’s something we’re committed to continuing.”
As Hyland continues her work in Dhaka, her art becomes a conversation between landscapes, the silence of Donegal and the hum of Dhaka, the solitude of the studio and the rhythm of collaboration.
The exhibition ultimately reflects her belief that creation itself is an act of connection, a bridge between cultures, histories and people who may never meet, yet understand one another through art.
An Duanaire: Visual Poems of the Dispossessed – From Donegal to Dhaka will continue at Gallery Cosmos, Cosmos Centre, Malibagh, Dhaka, from November 5 to 27, open daily from 10 am to 8 pm.
