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# Curios About: Dirty Look at the Dáil Day by Ciara Scanlan
- URL: https://www.dublininquirer.com/curios-about-dirty-look-at-the-dail-day-by-ciara-scanlan/
- Published: 2015-12-02T22:48:39.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-30T22:48:00.000Z
- Description: In 2011, artist Ciara Scanlan organised Dirty Look at the Dáil Day. Perhaps it’s time to get together and give the government a dirty look again, she suggests. Click through for an instructional video.
- Author: Square in the Circle
- Tags: Culture Desk, Curios About, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-03-05 15:28

**Dirty Look at the Dáil Day**  
By Ciara Scanlan  
Mixed, boundless/ongoing

1\. This work is about . . . calling upon the people of Ireland to give the Dáil a “dirty look”. In 2010, Ireland saw a rise in protests and social action. However, the government did not change course on any of the issues. So I decided to try a new avenue, and called for a mass protest called “Dirty Look at the Dáil Day”, an intervention which took place in 2011.

2\. I made this work because . . . in Ireland we refer to a “dirty look” not in a sexual or amorous context, but as a way of expressing disgust or dissatisfaction. It is passive-aggressive, and, ultimately, a futile act. I sent out a press release calling on the Irish public to come at 1pm on 5 May 2011 to give the house of government a minute-long “dirty look”. I was hoping for 1,000 people. Within two hours of the release, I was on national radio and TV stations trying to explain this intervention/protest.

3\. I hope when people see this work they will . . . The work sparked conversation and angered and irritated many people because of its blatant satirization of protest. The intention was to comment on how, often, the protester is powerless – and how humour can be a unifying force to instigate debate and action. Maybe we need a Dirty Look Day in 2016?

4\. In terms of art history, this work . . . I primarily work as an interventionist artist. In my practice, I try and access the general public response and insert myself (un)comfortably into the public sphere. I see everyday people as inspiration for my work, and see my role as an artist as being inside the routine of living, rather that in opposition to it. I am inspired by pioneers of intervention, like [Adrian Piper](http://www.adrianpiper.com/?ref=dublininquirer.com), [Sophie Calle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%5FCalle?ref=dublininquirer.com) and [Francis Alÿs](http://francisalys.com/?ref=dublininquirer.com).

5\. You can see my work . . . at [www.ciarascanlan.com](http://www.ciarascanlan.com/?ref=dublininquirer.com).

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*Curios \[sic\] About is a series featuring works by Dublin artists, curated for us by our friends at the [Square in the Circle](http://dublininquirer.com/curios-about/?ref=dublininquirer.com) blog, and hosted there as well as here.*

*Each artist is asked to submit an image of one work and answer a set of questions about it. We’d love it if you’d [submit](http://dublininquirer.com/curios-about/?ref=dublininquirer.com) something you’ve made.*