My work is concerned with exploring notions of shifting identities. We are stratified beings, characters through time. Through extensive material research, I examine material memories embedded within objects. Working across drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and recently sound, my research uncovers new links between the materialities of things found in our landscapes, often shifting from the personal to the public, the political to the historical or the permanent to the temporary.
I am interested in interrogating the concept of landscape as mnemonic; an arrangement of natural, physical and emotional elements that help us to remember things - aspects that are often greater than the land itself. Time is elastic within this search and often, I will explore forms, objects and materials rooted in different eras and conflate historical moments with that of the present. For me, a question of origin in not relevant in this exploration, because just like identity and context, the materials we find embedded in our landscapes are ruinous, continually enfolding, collapsing and transforming.
These concerns, I consider, less by means of cerebral knowledge and more through a situated, spatially specific and embodied understanding. I gather native or locally discovered memories to collaborate with my surrounding environments. Frequently I use light, to uncover vital qualities hidden in these materials to expose and bring them into the present moment, breathing life into them and creating new encounters with other material agents that bring me closer to understanding myself and the world around me. Knowledge of place forms the basis of self-knowledge.
In 2022, I earned my master’s degree in interdisciplinary research from the Royal College of Art. I have shown nationally and internationally, including my debut solo exhibition, "Concretus: Ulterior Objects," at Tactic Gallery, Cork, in 2017, Solstice arts centre, The Royal Hibernian Academy, The Complex, Hang Tough and in the cities of Berlin, London, Mexico City, New York, Reykjavik and Utrecht.
Additionally, I occasionally lecture in Fine Art and Architecture and I have completed several notable residencies, most recently with El Sur in Mexico City and Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival in Cork. I developed my knowledge of sculpture whilst working for renown sculptor Michael Joo in Brooklyn from 2017-2019 and was later commissioned to create a large public sculpture, "Brí, 2020" in Dublin. I have contributed to significant art events, including internships with Ireland's Pavilion at The Venice Biennale in 2015 and EVA: International in 2016, following my 2016 graduation with first-class honours in Sculpture from Limerick School of Art and Design, Ireland.
My recent residency in Mexico brought to light aspects of my practice that I believe, on first moving abroad, soon became buried. Following an in-depth exploration into my own artistic identity in CDMX, I spent time reflecting on my practice that has brought about a pivotal point in my career, one that has prompted me to move home, to explore now, on an enriched and deeper level, my ideas around identity, home and memory, out in a vast landscape which is at once intimate, familiar and other-worldy.
After years of seeking professional developments and inspirations abroad, I am finally ready to root my life and work in a place which I feel so incorporated and connected with. As of May 2024 I decided to move my life and work to the rural coast of West Cork, Ireland. I am currently showing with Gormleys Fine Art at One Charlemont Square, Charlemont Street in Dublin city centre. Later this month I have work that was selected to be featured in this years annual Art Riddler show also in Dublin city centre. Following this in 2025, I will open a solo exhibition of my work in Dublin with a new Irish contemporary art gallery. Details on this will be announced soon.