'The face (visage) is naked and vulnerable, common to all human beings, and absolutely unique at the same time' – Emmanuel Levinas.
Being met in the gaze of the 'Other' can evoke a multitude of feelings at primal, somatic and psychological levels. Central to my art is the ambiguity of perception. Using sculpture, photography and video, I explore the relationships between individuals and communities.
Reflections and Glass People are two site-specific videos representing personal and social alienation. Livelihoods, traditions and community were lost with the closure of Dublin's Glass Bottle Company. The local community was excluded from that decision-making process.
Expanding on the afore-mentioned work, in The One and the Many, I use multiplicities of individually sculpted heads on glass bottles to explore the universal themes of inclusion and exclusion. Is it possible to shift from rigid dichotomies of exclusion to a more fluid inclusivity of the stranger in ourselves and others?
The One and the Many
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Passport I
Passport II
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Tapestry wall hanging with portraits, photos on calico, 200 x 200cm
Untitled 7