McDermott and McGough: The Oscar Wilde Temple

Artistic duo McDermott & McGough occupy the entire gallery space, a former Victorian chapel, with immersive installation The Oscar Wilde Temple; a celebration of the Irish poet. The temple is open to the public both as an artwork and as a fully functioning celebration space for marriages, naming ceremonies, vow renewals and more.

This exhibition, the duo’s first institutional presentation in the UK, addresses issues relating to queer identity and the continuing inequalities faced by LGBTQ+ communities. McDermott & McGough celebrate Wilde as an early forebear of gay liberation: he is used as a historical frame through which to consider contemporary LGBTQ+ martyrs and those lost to the AIDS crisis.