Such Fine Crossings
NCAD MFA Grad Show - 2026
Paper Empire
In 1910, Scott's last Antarctic expedition set sail from England, with aims of scientific exploration and being the first to reach the south pole. The expedition was documented extensively; they brought along an official photographer - Herbert Ponting - and had all ‘officers’ keep diaries, to be published in the official narrative.
The work of Antarctic exploration was grueling - “the cleanest way [...] of having a bad time [ever] devised”, to quote Cherry-Garrard. A routine made up of man-hauling: dragging heavy sleds behind them, between setting up tents and attending to frost-bite & snow-blindness. If the loads were too heavy, they would relay, hauling then doubling back.
The slow, gradual work of printmaking reminds me of the slow, grueling work of manhauling sleds. The white page echos a snowy unmapped landscape, both holding similar promise and mystery. There’s a shadow of printmaking in the act of exploration. Each print is considered beforehand, you know the shape, but not its intricacies. You respond to the plate as you work the same way an explorer responds to the landscape; you can work with a goal in mind, but the plate dictates the outcome.
This work was tempered by the social aspects; a fantasy of daring deeds, playful arguments, and teamwork. Or that’s how they presented things officially. Looking at the diaries, there’s discrepancies; issues with leadership, poor planning, a hard-headed resistance to newer technologies. The tragic loss of Scott and the polar party, returning from the pole, coloured everything - Scott became a hero, a figure of British fortitude and moral standing. He didn’t make it back, but weren’t his words worth more? Scott’s story has been returned to again and again, used in attempts to articulate different ideas: as WWI propaganda, an ideal of British stiff upper-lip, or an inexperienced bumbler.
I’m interested in the diaries’ conflicting narratives, the contrasting priorities when noting down events, the personality clashes, and the way that all this results in vast reams of documentation. I’ve approached this primarily with etching, and through the medium of charcoal drawings.
This body of work has been majorly influenced by the photography of Herbert Ponting. I work with prints and charcoals as they make obvious that the photographer chose what to show or not show. Photography was a laborious business, every shot considered, not wasting a glass plate if it wouldn’t fit the story planned to tell. The act of polar exploration becomes as much about filling in the map, as it is about creating documentation to prove you’ve done exactly that. All this becomes a massive archive.
My work is archival in the aims described by Foster, it is “drawn to historical information that is lost or suppressed, and [seeks] to make it physically present once more.” - to this end I’m influenced by the work of Tacita Dean, Mike Nelson, and Peter Nash, whose work calls out for “human interpretation, not mechanic processing”. My work retains a level of ambiguity, to allow viewers to read their own narratives into it and make their own discoveries in their exploration of & engagement with the work.
Through this project I aim to make obvious the labour and perspectives that go into the creation of a historical narrative. This is in addition to drawing attention to how these historical narratives are built through the images documented, and how all this allows for subtle differences in personal interpretations of a history.
Images of work from this whole project.
Video speaking about the project.
NCAD Works Page
https://2026.ncad.works/graduates/rebecca-gleeson
Such Fine Crossings
A new exhibition of graduate work from NCAD MFA programme opens at Rua Red South Dublin Arts Centre on 6th June 2026.
This is the final MFA (Masters in Fine art) before NCAD launches its new program of postgraduate degree courses this year.
The show brings together work by 14 artists - spanning painting, media, print, and glass, reflecting diverse approaches to material, process, and critical inquiry.
Moving between the intimate and the societal, the works explore how contemporary life is shaped through shifting conditions of relation, identity, and experience.
A programme of public engagement will run alongside the exhibition, including artist-led events and opportunities for dialogue.
Artists: Amelia Caulfield, Barbara Healy, Elizabeth Shaw, Emma Wills, Evan McKenna, Evan Wilson,
Helena Murray, Hugh Cooney, Jennifer Rylands, Katie McCloskey, Luke Donnelly, Moynagh Sullivan, Rebecca Gleeson, Ríoghnach Hardiman
Opening: 6th June 3pm-5.30pm 2026
Venue: Rua Red, Tallaght, Dublin, D24 KV8N
Dates: 6th-20th June 2026, open daily 10am-6pm (closed Sundays)
Admission free
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