pass the baton is a collaborative exhibition by artists Laura O’Connor and Léann Herlihy that draws on personal histories of competitive sport and performance to interrogate ideas of identity, nationalism and bodily resilience.
O’Connor explores the tension between patriotism and nationalism, influenced by her childhood experiences in a marching band, using durational performance and fragile porcelain structures.
Herlihy’s work centres on collective resistance and queer-led self-defence, rejecting traditional notions of bodily resilience in favour of justice, solidarity and collective care. Together, the artists challenge dominant narratives of strength, highlighting the tensions between endurance and resistance through embodied research, sculpture, installation and performance.
Left: Hands Of Piece, Laura O’connor
Right: With Everything, We’ve Got Léann Herlihy
