For their retrospective at Dublin's IMMA, collaborative American artists David McDermott and Peter McGough insist on a conceptually appropriate installation of 120 cyanotypes and palladium prints displayed on opulent fin-de-siècle wallpaper. Following other artists who draw no distinction between life and work, McDermott & McGough create images that document their lifestyle of mimicking Europe's Victorian gentry. Portrait of the Artists (with Top Hats), 1865 shows the duo in full historical regalia, while Idle Hours, 1884 and Children in Kindred Worship, 1907 showcase the period's exaltation of youth. Made in Ireland amid the political turmoil that ended with the Belfast Agreement in 1998, An Experience of Amusing Chemistry attempts to recapture the halcyon days of the late 19th century.

-Adda Birnir

A catalogue, published by Charta, will be available in September. McDermott & McGough's work is also on view at in New York at Cheim and Read through April 26 and Nicholas Robinson Gallery through May 17.