I am a freelance visual artist and curator with a socially engaged practice. As a politically aware artist, my research is concerned with identity and in particular intimate female ritual and investigating the role – self selected and enforced – of women in contemporary Irish society. My artwork also focuses on authenticity in documentation by way of performance, film and drawing. I create often absurd, socially awkward performance, in which costumes and props amount to an abject beauty. I frequently work collaboratively in both my artistic and curatorial practices.
I developed the four day durational performance, Article 2: How to Fold a Sheet, after spending time with the Ladies K Club from Killeshandra (Co Cavan), for which I received a Create Artist in the Community R&D Award. Four artists became part of a domestic machine in a disused dwelling that we inhabited for four hours each day. The audience were free to move amongst us as we performed our repetitive actions although we remained oblivious to their presence.
My drawing practice stems from my live art background, as an attempt to authentically record a lived moment. I use single lines to capture activities, events, and sometimes to position activity. In 2017 I completed a series of eight drawings, commissioned by the East Belfast Partnership, documenting life and place in East Belfast.
Most recently, I was a founding Creative Director at Townhall Cavan Arts Space. As a curator with trans-art Cavan, I have devised and programmed contemporary arts interventions in County Cavan since 2011. In both roles I curate and facilitate artists and wider community engagement with the arts across all disciplines. Alongside Cavan Town Council and County Council our co-curated trans-art 2012 project was awarded the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards for Sustaining the Arts.