Threshold

Threshold presents Helen McDonnell is an exhibition created by an artist working as part of Flax’s Artist Editions project.

5 June to 27 June 2025, Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday, 10am-4pm

McDonnell’s intricately layered frames pay homage to the lesser-known democratic art form of Tramp Art.

Tramp Art is a form of woodworking associated with itinerant workers in the United States from 1880–1940, using materials and equipment to hand. Wood salvaged from cigar boxes or crates was carved and notched with simple tools like a pen knife and then layered into shapes held with glue or nails.

McDonnell’s frames are made using modern technology and hand-building techniques. Designed and produced as a set of multiples, each frame is an original artwork within this edition.

Helen McDonnell is a Belfast-based artist and owner of Skullduggery TatĂş. She has both curated and participated in multiple exhibitions in Belfast and further afield. As an artist, her practice encompasses textile, woodcarving and painting inspired by folk art traditions.

Open Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday
10am-4pm
5 North Street
Belfast
BT1 1NA

Threshold is a street-view gallery space in the two window boxes of Flax Art Studios at 5 North Street. Regular exhibitions have been programmed since April 2023.

Threshold is an opportunity to respond to the uniqueness of this space, with its large window displays in the oldest part of the city.