Irish Times cartoonist, Martyn Turner, is to have a retrospective exhibition in Dublin featuring a collection of his most iconic drawings from the last 45 years. ‘The Times We Live In: Martyn Turner’s Satire’ will run from 29 November to 7 December 2018 at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin’s CHQ Building. The show is part of The Jonathan Swift Festival, which celebrates the life and legacy of Ireland’s most famous satirist and author Jonathan Swift.
Jessica Traynor, Deputy Museum Director at EPIC and exhibition curator, says: “We’re delighted to again be part of The Jonathan Swift Festival and have the opportunity to present the work of a contemporary satirist. Looking back at Martyn’s work over the years, it’s a reminder that the satire of the past can sometimes have much to say today. As a cartoonist, he’s still at the height of his powers and I think we’ll be shaking our heads at his prescient tendencies for years to come.
Martyn Turner has been drawing cartoons for The Irish Times for 45 years. Born in Essex (with some Irish heritage), he started his career as a cartoonist in Northern Ireland. The retrospective will explore Martyn Turner’s work under three themes. ‘Gullible’s Travels’ is a Swiftian selection of cartoons in which ‘Gullible’ comes back to Ireland after a 400 year absence. ‘Plus Ça Change’ features cartoons reminding us that history has a tendency to repeat itself. ‘The Politicians We Deserve’ features close-to-the-bone political caricatures and Turner’s chronicling of current affairs.
“By his own admission, Martyn is a writer operating under the guise of a cartoonist, harking back to the cartoons of William Hogarth and James Gillray, both near contemporaries of Jonathan Swift’s. With his detached eye and his ability to cut to the quick, Martyn Turner is surely Swift’s successor,” says Traynor.
‘The Times We Live In: Martyn Turner’s Satire’ is free and open to the public in the CHQ Building from 29th November to 7th December 2018.
For more information on The Jonathan Swift Festival visit www.jonathanswiftfestival.ie
The exhibition is kindly supported by The Irish Times.