Still time to catch some arts festival magic

WITHOUT a doubt, the popular hit of the Galway Arts Festival was the astonishing exhibition by Patricia Piccanini in the Festival Gallery in the old Connacht Tribune printing works on Market Street.
The Australian artist has produced a range of works which feature astonishingly lifelike human figures alongside equally lifelike mutations. Each hair has been placed by hand, each crease of skin sculpted, in a leap of imagination which leaves viewers awestruck.
Piccanini imagines a world in which not only organic but inorganic beings have evolved. A pair of Vespa scooters sit in a found embrace, while scooter “pups” laze on the floor.
The exhibition is open until Sunday, as are the other visual arts shows, and is well worth a visit. Admission is free.
The festival runs to July 26, and there are still tickets for some shows.