Known for his endlessly creative use of words, James Joyce invented a whole host of fairly outlandish words and phrases in his writing. The word Whenceness appears in Ulysses, meaning something’s birthplace or source point, the place from which it arises and develops.

The exhibition 'Whenceness' was comprised of two videos and this large scale installation piece comprising of 24 new works on paper which were developed during her fellowship at the Whitney Independent Study program. The works all deal with the intersection between fiction and reality derived from Joyce’s Ulysses Episode 12: Cyclops which deals with nationality, race, anti-semitism and what it means to be Irish, ‘‘A nation?’ says Bloom, ’ A nation is the same people living in the same place”.

Using original newspaper from 16th June 1904, the day Ulysses is set, the works on paper focus on issues still present such as immigration an increased nationalism. Usually we look at that day through the prism of the book, by using collage, text, paint and masking tape, Byrne highlights the news of the real day which is mostly known through fiction, considering what changes over time and what stays the same.

Throughout 'Whenceness', Byrne considers words such as race, people and culture, where many crucial meanings have been shaped by a dominant class and by professions operating within its terms.