This years Glen Dimplex Award show is perhaps the most diverse yet, taking in all points from the lean conceptual work of Philip Napier to the sculpture of Janet Mullarney and the full force epate of McDermott and MacGough's contribution.
The picture the shortlist creates is consequently a fuzzy one, suggesting, perhaps, a loss of direction in art exhibited in Ireland in the past year.
Time travel might be one answer and if so, Messrs Mac Dermott and MacGough are in a good position. To help prove the phenomenon is possible, in some sense of the word, the pair have brought a collection of bric-a-brac, pot plants, floral wallpaper and old carpets which lend their drawing-room stage set at IMMA the air of a dusty antique shop.
Beyond that set, the artists have created a storeroom of their paintings, which spin through styles and moods as though there were no tomorrow, or at least no yesterday, or perhaps neither.
The American artists' end of the corridor is not the only place where time seems to break down. Janet Mullarney's painted wooden carvings might have emerged almost anywhere at any time in the last half-century. This could be seen as an extravagant compliment, but in Mullarney's case, the curious anachronism of her chosen method always seems to shout louder than any other aspect of the work.
Neither Hans Peter Kuhn's terse light and sound installations (which admittedly were improvised when it emerged that it would not be possible to build the artists' planned work) nor Philip Napier's dislocated installation of sooted fireplaces and a copy of a mural from a Belfast gable end, live up to their promise.
In this context - and even if the opposition had mounted a more distinct challenge - Siobhan Hapaska's playful but often-macabre sculpture would look like the favourite to take this year's £15,000 prize.
Her exhibit is not without false steps but most pieces, ranging from an electric tumbleweed on a dolly track to a pair of abstract opalescent wall-mounted forms, suggest an artist with a supple approach but a strong direction.
The winner of the IMMA Glen Dimplex Award will be announced on June 11th. The award show will run until July 5th.
