Singer and songwriter BABA: ‘I love Louis Theroux, his awkward humour, the way he disarms his guests and how effortlessly he gets people to talk'
BOOK: A Pocketful of Happiness I love a memoir, and I adore a love story – so Richard E Grant's A Pocketful of Happiness really spoke to me. It's heartbreaking but so full of love. He shares diary entries from the time he lost his wife, Joan, to cancer and writes so honestly about their life together.
Before she died she told him to try and find a pocketful of happiness in each day, and that thread runs beautifully through the book. My favourite line is: 'Grief is love with nowhere to go.' I think it's so important to normalise talking about your grief.
STREAMING: Severance I've just finished Season 2 of Severance and I miss it already. I absolutely loved everything about it. The premise is brilliant – full of twists and turns – and the cast, and their acting, is outstanding. I've been a huge Adam Scott fan since Parks and Recreation.
But what really stood out for me was the way it was shot: the symmetry of the Lumon offices, the attention to detail, and how they make something so stark and bleak look oddly beautiful. The whole thing was an unsettling joy to watch. I can't wait for Season 3.
PODCAST: Louis Theroux I'm a huge fan of Louis Theroux, and I'm so excited his podcast is back, the aptly named The Louis Theroux Podcast. I've only listened to the Bella Ramsey episode so far, but honestly, he could talk to a wall and I'd still tune in.
I just love everything about him; his awkward humour, the way he disarms his guests, and how effortlessly he gets people to talk. He recently released a very important documentary called The Settlers, which everyone should watch.
FESTIVAL: Culture Night I love Culture Night in Dublin each September – there's such a buzz, and it really brings the city to life. My favourite part is wandering between free events, discovering new artists and chatting to creatives from all disciplines. I always finish the night with a pint and a toasted sambo in Grogan's – it's my little tradition.
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Irish Examiner
35 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Michael Quane and Johanna Connor: Cork husband and wife artists unite for joint exhibition
The fact that Michael Quane and Johanna Connor work in different, but complementary, media is reflected in the title of their new exhibition at the Lavit Gallery in Cork. Pencil – Paper – Chisel – Stone features Connor's pencil drawings of objects and landscapes alongside Quane's limestone and marble sculptures of people, beasts and inflatables. The two are not just collaborators, they are also a couple, having connected during the Covid pandemic. 'We were following each other on Instagram for a while,' says Connor. 'At the time, I was working with horses, and I was really mesmerised by Michael's sculptures. I wanted to know what the connection was, so I asked him. And Michael said that he'd need my email for that, it was such a long answer.' 'We emailed each other for a week after that,' says Quane, 'and then we met.' Horses, he explains, have preoccupied him since his student days at the Crawford College of Art & Design in the 1980s. 'At that time, I had a group of very good friends who were all very strong feminists,' he says. 'I encoded an awful lot of what I was trying to say through animals, and the horse, for me, represented male energy and power. But it's since become invested with all kinds of other meanings, to do with human progress, for instance.' Quane's interest in horses found expression in the public art commissions he began winning not long after he graduated. The fees for his Horses and Riders sculpture at Mallow Roundabout and Fallen Horse and Rider at Midleton helped pay for the former Church of Ireland church in Coachford, Co Cork he acquired for £24,000 in 1994. Michael Quane with one of his pieces at the Lavit. Refurbishing the building has been a long-term project, which Connor helped complete when she moved in in November 2020. As well as being their home, the former church houses their two studios and an exhibition space. 'It's not a commercial enterprise,' says Quane of the latter. 'We show our own work, and sometimes work by other artists. We open for Culture Night in September every year. Three years ago, we had one of our neighbours come in. The second year, we had maybe twenty. But last year, we had scores of local people. It's getting bigger every year.' They also open by appointment. 'One day last week, we had 100 school children come in. It was fantastic. They're just so curious, you know?' While Quane has worked full-time as a studio artist for over 40 years, Connor – a native of Schull, Co Cork – explored other avenues after graduating from the Limerick School of Art & Design. 'I studied painting initially,' she says. 'But after my diploma, I took some time out and worked with the Bedrock theatre company in Dublin. Then I applied for the Motley Theatre Design Course in London. I was very fortunate to get in; they only take ten people every year.' She returned to Dublin, working as a freelance designer. 'But then the scene kind of changed,' she says. 'So I went back to London. I'd met someone, and I discovered I was pregnant. Things changed for me then. I was born with a twisted intestine and the pregnancy didn't work out. I lost the baby, and I nearly died. Then I went right, what next? I ended up moving back to Schull.' For the next twelve years, Connor worked with horses. She maintained her interest in art, exhibiting at the West Cork Art Centre and producing a children's book with her friend Gabrielle Byrne. Eventually, she returned to study, completing an MA: Art and Practice at the Crawford College of Art & Design in Cork in 2018. Thereafter, she began making art in earnest. One of Johanna Connor's pieces at the Lavit. Picture: Ros Kavanagh 'In 2020, I was heading off to New York on a residency when Covid happened. And that's when I met Mike.' The two married in 2023, and now spend most of their time at their respective practices. 'We work separately,' says Quane. 'But we check in on each other throughout the day. I might help Johanna out of a hole, or she might help me. It's a lovely partnership.' Seeing their work put together in the Lavit has been inspiring. 'It's a really quiet space to show in,' says Connor, 'and the work just sits so beautifully.' She can't wait to get back in the studio, she adds. 'I want to develop the drawing more. I'm starting to introduce a little bit of colour lately, and maybe the scale will change, or I'll start using other materials. We'll see.' Quane, meanwhile, is looking forward to a break. 'Between doing up the church and making work,' he says, 'I've been going flat-out for five years. After this exhibition, I feel a really strong urge to step back and get some perspective on where I want to go next. I'm 63 now, so this is my time to do it. You will probably see more of Johanna, and less of me.' Michael Quane and Johanna Connor, Pencil – Paper – Chisel – Stone runs at the Lavit Gallery, Cork until June 14. Further information:
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Singer and songwriter BABA: ‘I love Louis Theroux, his awkward humour, the way he disarms his guests and how effortlessly he gets people to talk'
BOOK: A Pocketful of Happiness I love a memoir, and I adore a love story – so Richard E Grant's A Pocketful of Happiness really spoke to me. It's heartbreaking but so full of love. He shares diary entries from the time he lost his wife, Joan, to cancer and writes so honestly about their life together. Before she died she told him to try and find a pocketful of happiness in each day, and that thread runs beautifully through the book. My favourite line is: 'Grief is love with nowhere to go.' I think it's so important to normalise talking about your grief. STREAMING: Severance I've just finished Season 2 of Severance and I miss it already. I absolutely loved everything about it. The premise is brilliant – full of twists and turns – and the cast, and their acting, is outstanding. I've been a huge Adam Scott fan since Parks and Recreation. But what really stood out for me was the way it was shot: the symmetry of the Lumon offices, the attention to detail, and how they make something so stark and bleak look oddly beautiful. The whole thing was an unsettling joy to watch. I can't wait for Season 3. PODCAST: Louis Theroux I'm a huge fan of Louis Theroux, and I'm so excited his podcast is back, the aptly named The Louis Theroux Podcast. I've only listened to the Bella Ramsey episode so far, but honestly, he could talk to a wall and I'd still tune in. I just love everything about him; his awkward humour, the way he disarms his guests, and how effortlessly he gets people to talk. He recently released a very important documentary called The Settlers, which everyone should watch. FESTIVAL: Culture Night I love Culture Night in Dublin each September – there's such a buzz, and it really brings the city to life. My favourite part is wandering between free events, discovering new artists and chatting to creatives from all disciplines. I always finish the night with a pint and a toasted sambo in Grogan's – it's my little tradition.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Podcast Corner: Jameela Jamil aims to be uninspiring on Wrong Turns
Jameela Jamil, an actress best known for The Good Place, a sitcom with a good idea that faded once it stretched past its first season, hosted the I Weigh podcast for four years. It ran from a month into lockdown in 2020 to the end of 2024, expanding from, as the title suggests, ideas of body shaming to talk of activism in local politics, disinformation, and dismantling gender violence. Perhaps she grew tired of the often heavy content, or maybe she just listened to a lot of How to Fail with Elizabeth Day and felt inspired, but either way, she's back with a new podcast called Wrong Turns - 'for anyone who feels like their life is one disaster after another'. Jamil explains at the outset of the first episode: 'This is a podcast that celebrates shame and indignity. I'm just fucking sick of all of the inspiration we're supposed to draw from all of the terrible moments in life, and I feel like we're overdosing on it online, and I just want somewhere where I can chill and just own my clusterfucks without it needing to have a silver fucking lining. And I wanted to bring my friends on to commiserate with me. We are anti-inspiration, pro-commiseration.' She's got a lot of celebrity pals to draw on - the first episode is with Mae Martin, a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and recording artist; and Bob the Drag Queen, a winner of Ru Paul's Drag Race. The second features We're Here to Help hosts Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, and Eric Edelstein ( Parks and Recreation, Twin Peaks). 'Do you feel like disaster is drawn onto you?' Jamil asks them. Cue some very giddy banter as they throw themselves into the topic. It escalates so quickly that, not eight minutes in, Bob is telling a story about a vicious dressing down he gave to a pimply kid who was making fun of him when they were in seventh grade together. 'And then next year he's in a wheelchair. Because it wasn't a pimple. It was a brain tumour. He's dead. Fully dead to this day.' It's a stark story but it's played to Jamil and Martin laughing hysterically (and nervously?). A really weird moment. Whether you want to continue with the podcast after that is up to you. Finding Lucinda: Last autumn, The Road to Joni podcast traversed the US on the way to the Hollywood Bowl for a pair of rarely spotted Joni Mitchell shows, talking to various fans and followers along the way. Finding Lucinda is in the same vein as young singer-songwriter ISMAY goes on a road trip of self-discovery to trace the roots of their musical hero, Lucinda Williams, talking to collaborators and archivists along the way.
