ON THE ROPES is a new cap designed by visual artist Léann Herlihy for Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.

The concept behind the cap is inspired by Herlihy's own artistic practice. Herlihy pulls references from unarchived fragments, found at the back of storage rooms, or virtually spiralling down the threads of online forums as they scavenge for remnants of those who have been deliberately or accidentally excluded from society.

Alongside the nostalgic noughties shrug emoticon, the cap features snippets of text pulled from the female wrestling magazine Fighting Gals Monthly: A Galaxy of Female Combat where women's sexuality was deployed as a combative tool to patriarchal resistance. The cap comes with a pencil inscribed with the words 'Bounce Back!' and a custom-designed, 3D-printed pencil holder inspired by those commonly found on construction workers' hard hats.

Through these various elements Herlihy encourages the wearer to hold space for the transformative power of collapse, a position which counters the modern-day neoliberal narrative that we all must be 'resilient', and simply 'bounce back' through labour to meet the daily demands. ON THE ROPES celebrates the great number of strained bodies, and those who resist flexibility, in favour of challenging the status quo and shattering a system which never served us.

Product Details
100% Organic Cotton
One Size (Adjustable)
Embroidered in Ireland

Comes with
Green 3D-Printed Pencil Holder (PLA)
Engraved yellow wooden pencil

Léann Herlihy, 'ON THE ROPES', 2026

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