The Complex Dublin

04/06/2025

❌ Fine Art Giveaway ❌

In conjunction with Oedipus, a new exhibition by Lee Welch, a number of limited-edition lithographic prints will be given away across selected days.

Featured here: love and its shadows (2025), lithographic print on Somerset Satin 300gsm, one of 20 + 2 A/P. €100 retail value.

Welch’s homage to Munch’s Vampyr II continues his exploration of affect, authorship, and the psychological residue of images. In revisiting Munch, Welch invokes not only a visual language, but a sensibility—attuned to repetition, doubling, and the emotional charge of reinterpretation.

To enter:
• Follow  and
• Share this post to Instagram Stories and tag both accounts

Entry valid until 4.49PM IST this Friday, 6 June. One winner will be selected at random at 5PM on Friday. The print can be collected from the gallery during opening hours, until the end of the exhibition.

Full giveaway terms at www.thecomplex.ie, link in bio.

30/05/2025

❌ PAINTING SPOTLIGHT ❌

Lee Welch | Oedipus

📍 The Gallery @ The Complex, D07YY97
🖼️ Exhibition Run: 24 May–14 June
⏰ Hours: Mon–Fri 10 AM–5 PM | Sat 12–5 PM

In response to the cancellation of Palestinian artist Samia Halaby's retrospective at Indiana University, I painted this portrait of Halaby as a way to hold space for her work and signal the importance of artistic expression and freedom of speech.

Born in Jerusalem in 1936, this portrait of Samia Halaby serves to honour her significant contribution to the world of art, education and her unwavering commitment to discrimination and the Palestinian cause. Not only did I want to mark the cancellation of her retrospective in Halaby’s old alma mater but my portrait also comes from a place of questioning and yearning and a motivation to focus on the importance of humanising. What I mean by humanise is to think about what is human and what is life and what might align with that in the context of the conflict in Gaza and Israel.

Samia Halaby is a beacon of resilience. In a time marked by controversy and uncertainty, my portrait emerges as a signal of solidarity and creativity. Her art and life work are a testament to the transformative power of art to transcend barriers and ignite meaningful conversations. I hope my painting of Samia Halaby can also hold space for meaningful conversations and for viewers to reflect on the complexities of censorship and the value of cultural diversity in our world.—Lee Welch

IMAGE :
Lee Welch
It’s an interesting question 2024
acrylic on canvas
50.8 x 40.6 cm / 20 x 16 in 
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Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council.
Drinks sponsored by Whiplash

29/05/2025

❌ SYSTEM:3 // ❌

See Dylan Fogarty play back to back with this Sunday at The Complex for latest warehouse takeover.

Tickets at the 🔗 in bio
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28/05/2025

❌ Fine Art Giveaway ❌

In conjunction with Oedipus, a new exhibition by Lee Welch, a number of limited-edition lithographic prints will be given away across selected days.

Featured here: love and its shadows (2025), lithographic print on Somerset Satin 300gsm, one of 20 + 2 A/P. €100 retail value.

Welch’s homage to Munch’s Vampyr II continues his exploration of affect, authorship, and the psychological residue of images. In revisiting Munch, Welch invokes not only a visual language, but a sensibility—attuned to repetition, doubling, and the emotional charge of reinterpretation.

To enter:
• Follow  and
• Share this post to Instagram Stories and tag both accounts

Entry valid until 4.49PM IST this Friday, 30 May. One winner will be selected at random at 5PM on Friday. The print can be collected from the gallery during opening hours, until the end of the exhibition.

Full giveaway terms at www.thecomplex.ie, link in bio.

26/05/2025

❌ Thank you ❌

Oedipus | Lee Welch
Opening hours:
Mon–Fri 10am–5pm
Sat 12–5pm

The Complex thanks artist Lee Welch, curator Mark O'Gorman, our attendees and supporters, for an engaging and warmly received exhibition opening last Friday.

Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council.
Drinks generously provided by Whiplash Beer.

Image credit: Lee Welch

22/05/2025

❌ OEDIPUS BY LEE WELCH ❌

📍 The Gallery @ The Complex, D07YY97
🎨 Preview: FRI 23 May, 6–8 PM
🖼️ Exhibition Run: 24 May–14 June
⏰ Opening Hrs: Mon–Fri 10 AM–5 PM | Sat 12–5 PM

This unassuming canvas draws you in with its quiet tension.  At first glance, it seems to be a simple scene: a figure lying amidst a disarray of books and papers. But something feels amiss. The figure's face, the very locus of identity, is hidden from view. We are left with a sense of anonymity, a void where expression should be. This absence is unsettling, prompting a cascade of questions. Who is this figure? What are they thinking, feeling? Are they lost in thought, overwhelmed by the surrounding clutter, or simply seeking a moment of respite from the demands of the world?

The artist's deliberate use of muted colours and blurred edges enhances this sense of ambiguity. The scene feels hazy, dreamlike, as if we are catching a glimpse into a private, introspective moment. The figure's posture, too, speaks volumes.  Seen from above, they appear vulnerable, exposed.  This perspective creates an uncomfortable intimacy, as if we are intruding on a space where we don't belong.

And yet, we can't look away. The painting holds us captive, compelling us to decipher the narrative it so subtly presents.  Is this a portrait of isolation? A meditation on the weight of knowledge and the burden of thought? Or perhaps a commentary on the elusive nature of identity in a world saturated with information?

The beauty of this work lies in its open-endedness. It resists easy interpretation, inviting us to project our own experiences and emotions onto the canvas.  In doing so, we are forced to confront our own vulnerabilities, our own anxieties, our own search for meaning in a world that often feels overwhelming and chaotic. This painting, in its quiet way, is a mirror reflecting the complexities of the human condition.

IMAGE :
Lee Welch
a whole string of failures 2025
acrylic on polyester
140 x 110 cm
55.1 x 43.3 in   
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Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council.

Drinks sponsored by Whiplash

22/05/2025

❌ THE DEPOT SESSIONS: THUMPER 'THE DRIP' ❌

🗓️ The Depot Sessions, Fri 6 Jun. Tickets at the 🔗 in bio.

🎶 The Depot Sessions headline act, THUMPER, has a new single ' The Drip' out tomorrow, Friday 23 May. Pre-save/Download and Listen at the 🔗 in bio.

You can hear 'The Drip' live at The Depot Sessions 3 on Fri, Jun 6. THUMPER and support act Dose, both have brand new music to showcase at the in-the-round show. Dose recently released a poignant track 'After This' which is fast gaining traction in the alternative Irish music scene, as a major hit. There will also be a special after-party DJ set by Really Good Time, until midnight.

'The Drip is a song about tour burnout and relationship strain. The song was written almost a line at a time, small lyrics jotted down at different moments on tour, in different cities, different head spaces. The title refers to that slow accumulation, drip torture was on my mind, but also an IV drip - something that keeps you alive, hooked to your veins. In this case my deep love for making music, and the people I make it with.

The song has no chorus - no release. But it’s joyous and builds with momentum with each passing section, even as the lyrics seem to become more abstract. This conflict between love for the thing, and that thing destroying you - that’s The Drip. “Poke to find a vein, flick the bag”

The song was recorded with producer Rian Trench in rural Donegal, in a cottage that we converted into a studio. We built a control room in the sitting room, and ran cables into the various bedrooms for guitar amps, even using Alan’s van to house the bass amp outside (as the volume inside the house was making the fillings in our teeth come loose). The double drums were then recorded in Attica Studio in Donegal owned by Tommy McLaughlin ( Soak, Villagers, Ailbhe Reddy). There was no signal, no wifi, no distractions - just friends making music together. We were listening to a lot of DIIV and Wednesday at the time, and we were lucky enough to rope in Alex Ferrar (engineer/producer of Wednesday,MJ Lendermann, Angel Olsen, etc) on mixing duties.' 

—THUMPER

.band

22/05/2025

❌Traveller Pride Week❌

One more sleep until the Irish Traveller Pride Week National Concert at The Depot at The Complex.

This concert showcases an array of leading musicians, singers and poets and highlights the immense and diverse talents of the Travelling community.

Read more at the link in bio.

21/05/2025

❌ Totally Dublin ❌

Pick up a copy of this month's at The Complex or Georges Street Arcade.

The Depot Sessions was also featured on totallydublin.ie, read the full article at the 🔗 in bio

19/05/2025

19/05/2025

❌ SYSTEM 3: Warehouse Edition ❌

🗓️ Sunday, 1 Jun
⏰ Doors 7pm
📍The Depot & The Cooler @ The Complex, D07XR70
🎫 From €20 at the 🔗 in bio

The Complex welcomes back for SYSTEM:3 with a thrilling line-up that hails as 'some of the finest techno selectors and a fully immersive audiovisual experience'.

The Complex' iconic city centre location, with its multi dimensional venue capabilities, is the ideal location for this expertly curated audio-visual takeover. Two of The Complex' event spaces will be used—The Depot and The Cooler.

THE DEPOT will feature many shades of techno, including two of Ireland's fastest rising talents; Dylan Fogarty and Aero. Mode_1 steps up for his SYSTEM/Complex debut and Rathaus' Shannen Blessing returns after a superb NYE set along with vinyl beat enthusiast James Bennet. Brilliant selector Sahana, a regular fixture on club & festival nights will join and lastly, the ultra talented AXXS will provide a stellar visual accompaniment.

THE COOLER upstairs features stalwart John Braine AKA Trontsephore for an extended set of ambient, chill out and down tempo selections to chill your mind. Special guests to be announced, watch this space.

SYSTEM:3 will have fully licensed bars, an outdoor smoking terrace and as per previous SYSYEM parties; top tier production acoustics, state-of-the-art customised lighting and visuals and raises dance platforms.

Tickets at the 🔗 in bio