Irish Photographer
John David Mooney Foundation is pleased to present Drifting Sovereignty, a solo exhibition by Elaine Byrne, represented by Kevin Kavanagh Galleries, from 5th - 29th November 2025. This show, supported by Culture Ireland, will be opened by Consul General Brian Cahalane.
​​
Drifting Sovereignty is a multidisciplinary exhibition that critically engages with the shifting nature of borders and the performance of power at geopolitical and environmental margins. Through photography, sculpture, video, and performance, the exhibition interrogates how sovereignty is both asserted and destabilized in contested spaces.
​
Contemporary borders are often represented as fixed lines on maps, yet such depictions obscure their social, political, and material complexity. Byrne's work shifts focus from the border as line to the borderscape--a dynamic, contested space shaped by governance, infrastructure, and lived experience. In doing so, the exhibition emphasizes the constructed and mutable nature of borders, which appear, dissolve, fracture, and overlap in response to both human and environmental forces.
​
The works traverse multiple geographies. In the California desert. Byrne photographs prototypes of the U.S.-Mexico border wall--monumental forms that embody both the spectacle and futility of territorial enforcement. In the Canadian High Arctic, she documents landscapes marked by forced Indigenous relocation, revealing how political decisions have reconfigured lives and land. In Svalbard, where Russian-owned land exists within NATO territory, she explores competing territorial claims in the context of climate change and resource extraction.
​​
A central performance video shows Byrne walking across Arctic Sea ice--a minimal gesture that functions as a meditation on human presence within a rapidly changing landscape. This act underscores how environmental instability redraws boundaries once presumed stable.
​
Byrne's sustained engagement with borders positions them not solely as barriers, but as active agents in the production of identity, belonging, and exclusion. Drifting Sovereignty offers a critical reflection on the entanglement of geopolitical power, mobility, and environmental change, prompting urgent questions about the future of territory and the limits of control in an increasingly unstable world.
​
​
Elaine Byrne: Drifting Sovereignty
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 5, 5:30 P.M. — 7:00 P.M.
The Consul General of Ireland, Brian Cahalane, will open the exhibition at 6:00 P.M. followed by a gallery walk with the artist.
This exhibit will run through November 29, 2025.
We are most grateful of Culture Ireland, who supported this event.
Our Mission
The John David Mooney Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational arts organization located in Chicago, IL.
The Mooney Foundation is a collaborative workspace, a public venue, an artistic laboratory and a working archive. The Foundation utilizes its multiple gallery spaces to exhibit art and host events.
​
With a focus on international art and artists, the Foundation offers free public exhibitions, lectures and educational seminars throughout the year.
​
For over 40 years, the John David Mooney Foundation has also offered Internships and Apprenticeships aimed at providing artists with the opportunities to create new works, gain exposure, and develop new leadership opportunities within the community at large.
The Foundation's work is for the community, and it is sustained by the community.
The John David Mooney Foundation offers its programs and exhibitions on a complimentary basis to all.
Our mission to create wholly accessible public platforms for creative and cross-cultural discourse in Chicago is accomplished thanks to the commitment of donors, volunteers, and advocates who give of their time, talent, and resources.