Alice Rekab is an Irish artist currently based in Dublin. Their practice is concerned with expressions and iterations of complex cultural and personal narratives.
2025 Biennial Year Find out more
Rekab takes their own mixed-race Irish identity as a starting point from which to explore experiences of race, place and belonging. Over the last ten years Rekab’s practice has centred around collaboration and interdisciplinary work from which they produce film, performance, image and sculpture, creating new intersectional narratives and objects for exhibition. Recent Projects include: Clann Miotlantach, SIRIUS Arts Centre, Cobh(2024); Mehrfamilienhaus: A Home To More Than One Family, Museum VILLA STUCK , Munich(2023); FAMILY LINES Project, Douglas Hyde Gallery Dublin(2022); Mountain Language, Galway Arts Centre(2022) Concealed in the half-light, Catalyst Arts Centre, Belfast(2021)
Rekab completed a PhD at Kingston School of Art London in 2018 and an MA at Goldsmiths College London in 2010. Their work is in the collections of Trinity College Dublin, The Cathal Ryan Trust, The Irish Museum of Modern Art and The Arts Council of Ireland.
Alice Rekab identifies as Neurodivergent and Non-binary.
Liverpool Biennial 2025
‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, 2025
The title of this work, ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, translates from Irish Gaelic as ‘Origin Family/Bedrock’. It speaks directly to the subjects of community, resistance, diaspora and places of belonging that define the theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025.
The artist uses their own personal experiences of Irish, Black and multi heritage family life to explore hybrid identities, shared traditions and legacies of migration.
To create this work, Alice Rekab collaborated with students from the City of Liverpool College through a series of workshops which investigated and celebrated notions of identity. Led by artists Tobi Balogun, Maïa Nunes and Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha, the group – all of whom had personal or familial connections to migration – shared stories about their heritage and culture through personal
The title of this work, ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, translates from Irish Gaelic as ‘Origin Family/Bedrock’. It speaks directly to the subjects of community, resistance, diaspora and places of belonging that define the theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025. The artist uses their own personal experiences of Irish, Black and multi heritage family life to explore hybrid identities, shared traditions and legacies of migration. To create this work, Alice Rekab collaborated with students from the City of Liverpool College through a series of workshops which investigated and celebrated notions of identity. Led by artists Tobi Balogun, Maïa Nunes and Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha, the group – all of whom had personal or familial connections to migration – shared stories about their heritage and culture through personal belongings, and explored self-expression through the mediums of hip-hop dance, language and voice. Courtesy of the artist. Co-commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and EAF25 (Edinburgh Art Festival), with support from The Ampersand Foundation, Culture Ireland, the Arts Council Ireland Visual Arts Project Award and Liverpool ONE. With thanks to the City of Liverpool College and the students Ali, Anna, Aster, Athanasios, Bushra, Chisom, Eliza, Grace, Irene, Lily, Matthew, Nicole, Porsha, Rasha, Rodolfo, Sarfo, Sarina & Thomas Showing at Liverpool ONE: Alice Rekab
‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, 2025
Showing at Liverpool ONE: Alice Rekab
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Alice Rekab, ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, 2025. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Liverpool ONE. Photography by Rob Battersby.
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Alice Rekab, ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, 2025. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Liverpool ONE. Photography by Rob Battersby.
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Alice Rekab, ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’, 2025. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Liverpool ONE. Photography by Rob Battersby.
Liverpool Biennial 2025
'Bunchlann/Buncharraig', 2019 - ongoing
The title ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’ translates from Irish Gaelic as ‘Origin Family/ Bedrock’. It speaks directly to the subjects of community, resistance, diaspora and places of belonging that define the theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025. The artist uses their own personal experiences of Irish, Black and multi-heritage family life to explore hybrid identities, shared traditions and legacies of migration.
In their work, Rekab uses archival items and images such as family photographs, heirlooms and objects relating to their heritage from Sierra Leone, Syria, Ireland and the UK. They recreate and combine these historical references with memories, oral accounts, field notes, and readings, all derived from their encounters with and research into Irish, West African and Middle Eastern traditions, spirituality, and materiality.
Read more
The title ‘Bunchlann/Buncharraig’ translates from Irish Gaelic as ‘Origin Family/ Bedrock’. It speaks directly to the subjects of community, resistance, diaspora and places of belonging that define the theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025. The artist uses their own personal experiences of Irish, Black and multi-heritage family life to explore hybrid identities, shared traditions and legacies of migration. In their work, Rekab uses archival items and images such as family photographs, heirlooms and objects relating to their heritage from Sierra Leone, Syria, Ireland and the UK. They recreate and combine these historical references with memories, oral accounts, field notes, and readings, all derived from their encounters with and research into Irish, West African and Middle Eastern traditions, spirituality, and materiality. Clay is a distinctive feature of Rekab’s work. Drawn to it because of the earthy ancient quality it possesses, the artist uses clay to allude to the body – the colours, pale red and light grey, suggest skin tones and their hand and fingerprints can often be seen embedded in the surface. Clay animals are presented as artefacts or fossils. In particular, the snake is a biblical symbol associated with the replacement of paganism by Christianity in Ireland, and the crocodile alludes to the ‘wildness’ often associated with Africa in the West. Elsewhere in the gallery, the artist extends their characteristic use of collage to a new wallpaper which mixes together the past and present of the building including a wing of the building damaged during WWII and an existing historic staircase, mingled with images of the artist’s father as a young man, art works and artefacts and images exchanged between Rekab and LB2025’s curator. The wallpaper creates the illusion of decorative architectural features within the white cube gallery space, while referencing the way in which the past and present sit together in the artist’s practice. In the corridor audiences are welcome to browse a reading area with books that have travelled from site to site, including contributions documenting historic Bluecoat exhibitions focused on artists of Black, Irish and Arab heritage. Courtesy of the artist. Supported by Culture Ireland and The Arts Council, Ireland Visual Arts Project Award. Showing at Bluecoat
'Bunchlann/Buncharraig', 2019 - ongoing
Showing at Bluecoat
Tuesday to Sunday 11:00am–5:00pm-
Alice Rekab, Bunchlann,Buncharraig, 2019 – ongoing. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Bluecoat. Photography by Mark McNulty.
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Alice Rekab, Bunchlann,Buncharraig, 2019 – ongoing. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Bluecoat. Photography by Mark McNulty.
Venue
Liverpool ONE: Alice Rekab
Liverpool ONE Sugar House Steps, Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool L1 8LW, UK View venue
