The Farrell Family

“The Farrell Family” is composed of two artists (Seamus and Malachi) and one musician (Liam, AKA Doctor L), whose artistic practice is both accessible and immediate. It is a white-hot blend of ecology, robots, and hip-hop culture. La Maison Populaire and Mains d'Œuvres have invited the brothers to collaborate on this spectacle-based exhibition that is modeled after a blockbuster screenplay. Machines, sound, and screened images fuse in a raw crowded setting inspired by the idea of an airplane with a two-step trajectory : take-off at Mains d'Œuvres and landing at La Maison Populaire.

The Farrell Family
A Seine-Saint-Denis-style exhibition !
Seamus, Malachi and Liam Farrell (aka Doctor L)
Never in fashion but always headed in the right direction.
Scred Connexion
Although of Irish origin, Seamus, Liam, and Malachi Farrell have lived in France for over thirty years. Closely connected, the three brothers share a common artistic engagement in the explosive urban universe that is part and parcel of the social and political reality of their times. “The Farrell Family” is composed of two artists (Seamus and Malachi) and one musician (Liam, AKA Doctor L), whose artistic practice is both accessible and immediate. It is a white-hot blend of ecology, robots, and hip-hop culture. La Maison Pop and Mains d'Œuvres have invited the brothers to collaborate on this spectacle-based exhibition that is modeled after a blockbuster screenplay. Machines, sound, and screened images fuse in a raw crowded setting inspired by the idea of an airplane with a two-step trajectory : take-off at Mains d'Œuvres and landing at La Maison Pop.
Although the three brothers find themselves driven by common influences, their participation in large-scale projects (at the Centre Pompidou, the Gwangju Biennial, etc.) and the media's recognition of their work have never led to a real collaboration between them. La Maison Pop and Mains d'Œuvres have joined forces to coproduce this exceptional multidisciplinary project steeped in the brothers' local environment (Seine-Saint-Denis) and their international connections (Marrakech, New York, Paris, Dublin). The constant exchanges between these countries, cities, and surrounding suburbs have fueled an artistic practice that is free of any attempt to delimit or circumscribe their work. The exhibition, offering visitors a unique experience that is stamped by the paradoxes of our contemporary culture takes the form of a giant airport. It is a knot of antagonistic forces that features both waiting lines and lightning tours, budget flights and cutting-edge technology, security zones and open borders.
From Saint-Ouen to Montreuil, “The Farrell Family” is an exhibition that is up in the air, out of synch in time and space. Three different points of view come together to create one work, complete and complex, that directly mirrors the identities of La Maison Pop and Mains d'Œuvres, two venues that are active in the outskirts of Paris, championing a contemporary art that is both penetrating and popular.
Curators : Isabelle Le Normand and Florence Ostende

Press team :
Laura Baqué –laura.baque@maisonpop.fr T. +33 (0)1 42 87 08 68
Blandine Paploray -blandine@mainsdoeuvres.org T. +33 (0)1 40 11 11 51

Mains d'Œuvres
4 September - 31 October 2010
Opening : Friday, September, 3 rd
1, rue Charles Garnier, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France
+33 (0)1 40 11 25 25
www.mainsdoeuvres.org
Nearest tube station : Garibaldi (13 line) or Porte de Clignancourt (4 line)
The 85 bus (to Paul Bert)

Maison Populaire
29 September - 17 December 2010
Opening : Tuesday, September, 28
9 bis rue Dombasle - 93100 Montreuil, France
+33 (0)1 42 87 08 68
www.maisonpop.fr
Nearest tube station : Mairie de Montreuil (9 line)
The 102 or 121 bus