Robyn Daly's photographic self-portrait Beauty Face is on exhibition at An Chéad Tine Gallery in Kilkenny as part of its 3rd Annual Exhibition of contemporary Irish art. Selected by artist and curator Maurice Quillinan, Beauty Face is one of 58 artworks featured in the exhibition.
Bringing together artists working across a diverse range of disciplines, the annual exhibition offers a view of contemporary artistic practice in Ireland, reflecting the different perspectives and approaches shaping its visual culture.
The self-portrait that faces off against beauty filters
Daly's Beauty Face is a photographic self-portrait that forms part of her ongoing inquiry into the expansive possibilities of the female body.
In Beauty Face, Daly turns her attention to the manufactured ideals of female beauty perpetuated by digital technology and social media. The title references Samsung's Beauty Face camera functions, which allow users to enlarge their eyes, slim their faces and smooth their skin, producing an increasingly uniform, doll-like appearance.
In Beauty Face, Daly confronts the increasingly manufactured ideals of female beauty promoted through digital technology, social media and popular culture
The work also draws inspiration from feminist scholar Rosalind Gill, who has examined the influence of pornographic aesthetics on mainstream visual culture and the increasing pressure on women to scrutinise, regulate and modify their appearance. These digitally manufactured faces reflect a culture in which femininity is increasingly defined through narrowly prescribed standards of attractiveness.
“The more I think about it, the more intensely worried I am becoming about what social media is doing to our selfhood as women and, well, as humans,” said Daly. “This work, and many of my others, are a direct response to the ever-increasing importance our online lives are placing on perfection.”
Daly's Beauty Face offers a different proposition. The female body refuses the prescribed ideal, asserting itself in unexpected, exaggerated and grotesque forms. Rather than submitting to the conventions of beauty, the body becomes something altogether less compliant and more difficult to contain.
Exhibition Details
The 3rd Annual Exhibition at An Chéad Tine in Kilkenny, Ireland, runs from 18 September to 19 October 2026.
Robyn Daly is represented by Aperio Gallery, where a selection of her current work, including Beauty Face, is available to purchase online.
