This residency marked Áine’s first engagement with the artistic community in her native Donegal. During the residency Áine engaged with both the development of practical skills and the consideration of strands central to her sculptural practice in a broader manner. In the workshop and using the ceramic kiln she developed skills in plaster mould making, slip casting and glazing.
The path into working as an artist came after studying as a structural engineer, which indicated a way to think of architectural materials and manners of making in a specific way. This discipline relates to thinking about building in a very fragmented way, piece by piece, making individual elements that fit together to make a whole. That influenced her approach to sculpture. She has primarily had a studio based practice but more recently also works directly on site, in the gallery, using installation periods as site of production.
Áine also spent time during this residency exploring the work of Liam McCormick and visiting the churches that this architect built in Donegal. This allowed her to think about the Modernist Architectural movement in a wider context; engaging with how it impacted architecture in Ireland and how this movement was adapted to a rural context and was situated in the land and landscape of Donegal to become integrated in these rural sites. The residency culminated in a public group visit to the nearby church Star of the Sea.
Additionally, she welcomed the opportunity to consider in depth elements relevant to her practice: the notion of place, site, home, belonging, surroundings. This formed much of the basis for a solo show at The Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny in April, 2023. Recent solo and group exhibitions include From Here to There, at The Douglas Hyde Gallery; point of fold, at mother’s tankstation Dublin; Feeling of Knowing at The Complex Gallery; and a commissioned body of work, and/or land, for EVA International 2021/2020. Upcoming presentations include a solo show at Void, Derry; and commissioned work for Kunstverein Aughrim.
- November 20, 2022
