Irish Museum exhibition is a real treasure trove of modern art

An iconic Roy Keane photo is just one of 100 pieces assembled by Dorothy Cross from various collections for a major exhibition at IMMA, writes Alan O’Riordan

DOROTHY CROSS is sitting in the vaults of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, explaining why the extinct, stuffed bird should be placed in front of Roy Keane. Clearly, and rightly enough, she thinks Roy is a rara avis, and one of a dying species at that. She does not, let us be clear, think he is a dodo. “It’s a solitaire,” she says, “which is a relative of the dodo, but I thought it was a more poetic name – better for Roy!”

Those familiar with Cross’s work will know her habit of suggestion through juxtaposition of combination. She’s made a basking shark currach, and complemented the Crawford’s collection of marble casts with a massive whale bone. She’s courted controversy in the past by draping a cowhide and udders over a statue of the Blessed Virgin, or by putting a female figure on the crucifix, or boring a hole through a bible with a drill.