Meditating on Hamad Butt’s poetic and pioneering practice, join us for a conversation situating his work art historically and interrogating his singular ability to provoke, seduce, and inspire across generations of artists and audiences.
Chaired by Dominic Johnson and featuring contributions from art historian Alice Correia, IMMA curator Seán Kissane, and artist Laila Majid, we will trace the key moments and thematic strands that define Butt’s work – a practice defying categorisation, weaving together a constellation of references from popular culture, alchemy, and science fiction, to intimacy, risk, and sex and desire.
Following the screening of a newly commissioned short film accompanying the exhibition by Farah Qayum and an extended introduction by Johnson, the panel will ground Butt’s practice within the art historical canon, considering the specific artistic, cultural, and socio-political contexts that he was practising within.
Moving between conceptual, technical, and critical responses to his work, we will explore the ongoing resonances of Butt’s practice and share insights into his language of desire, fragility, and fear that continues to enthral and inspire today.
