'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*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/01a33c066a-1684701598/1-img-4336-1500x-q90.jpg)
The One and the Many
![*Untitled 1*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/9f2340fa0f-1684701598/2-img-5362-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 1
![*Untitled 2*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/e73780b33b-1684701598/3-img-5351-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 2
![*Untitled 2*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/c37952fb38-1684701598/4-img-5367-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 2
![*Passport I*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/39c7a7fd1a-1684701598/5-0-1-1500x-q90.png)
Passport I
![*Passport II*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/1a604924e6-1684701598/6-0-1500x-q90.png)
Passport II
![*Untitled 5*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/6029d871a4-1684701598/7-img-5359-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 5
![*Untitled 6*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/979f9bf4ec-1684701598/8-img-5360-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 6
![Tapestry wall hanging with portraits, photos on calico, 200 x 200cm](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/ef0d2d273c-1684701598/9-img-5134-1500x-q90.jpg)
Tapestry wall hanging with portraits, photos on calico, 200 x 200cm
![*Untitled 7*](https://2023.ncad.works/media/pages/graduates/maryrose-kiernan/23e49b76ba-1684701598/10-img-5026-1500x-q90.jpg)
Untitled 7