2025

During the first two months of 2025, myself and my collaborator Róisín Byrne curated an open call and an exhibition in Limerick, Ireland at the People’s Museum. The open call was inspired by the overlap between our practices and ran in February 2025:

NOTIONS

Artists are invited to submit work of any medium with an emphasis on experimental techniques and abundant materials. We are interested in works that investigate the environmental and social implications of material choices. Some of the core concepts that have inspired the show are waste streams, and the role of western capitalism in the use and reuse of materials and their future possibilities. Another key topic is sustainability and the parallelity between inventing new materials and reimagining old ones. 

The curational influence of the show is rooted in domestic spaces. Regardless of status and location, the home is central to the human experience, and often acts as the accelerator of western waste streams. The consequences of these waste streams disproportionately affect more than the western world which perpetuates them. How can western humanity, who are at the core of both waste streams and capitalism, acknowledge this harm and intercept this cycle to increase engagement in sustainable practices? The aim of Notions is to create a space that allows visitors to reimagine their own domestic spaces, increase their awareness of their own material place, and address any intimidation they might have regarding incorporating sustainability in their own lives.

Artists included in the show are: Darragh Kennedy, Liza Kelly, Niamh McGuinness, Naoise Sheridan, Marta Baptista, Christine Prescott, Cian Handschuh, Nina Achtelik, Mette Sofia Roche, Ben Reilly, Ciarán Leonard, Tina Piracci, Piia Rossi, Sam Gleeson, Martina Hynan, Indigo Azidahaka, Stephanie McLaughlin, Erlend Evensen, Francine Marquis, Symphony Delayne, Sara K Dunn, Jamie Westermeyer, Aaron Asher, Eliza Guion, and Pradeep Mahadeshwar.

In April 2025 I created an exhibition space for my graduate MFA show at the Burren College of Art. It incorporated five separate new pieces, one of which involved a similar community-engagement element to the Macro-Before-Micro installation in 2024. The new pieces included were titled: Shelf Life, Bioplastique, Future Fossils, The Fountain of ReVision.

Shelf Life (2025) was made with repurposed discarded lazy-susan cabinet inserts, metal poles from the dump, LED strip lighting, plant cuttings from the Ballyvaughan community, bean sprouts, sprouted green onions, library of reference material, sphagnum moss from spruce tree plantation in Gregan’s wood, two repurposed ironed soft-plastic purses, and a crochet soft plastic sample.

This piece is all about using discarded materials in alternative ways as means of creating a domestic space the viewer could see themselves enjoying. I intentionally chose to leave the discarded components that make up the shelves recognizable so that viewers feel a sense of familiarity with the materials, and consider alternative uses for similar materials in their own lives.

Bioplastique (2025) was made with repurposed ironed soft-plastic pouches, sprouted beans, tomato plants, plant cuttings from the Ballyvaughan community, LED strip lighting, nails.

To make this piece, I used a domestic iron to fuse together many sheets of soft plastics (often found as food packaging). I asked community members and businesses for their soft plastic waste to complete this work, and I left as much of the branding/recognizable imagery visible so that the community members would be able identify their waste in its new form.

I also sprouted broad bean, tomato, and onion plants to pot in the wall hanging plastic pots. After the exhibition concluded, I distributed the sprouts to interested community members.

Fossil Futures (2025) Mid-fire ceramic tiles made by Ballyvaughan community members using local plastic waste as textural applications, local plastic waste used to make textural applications, oyster farming net/bag found washed up on Fanore beach, LED strip lighting, repurposed ironed soft-plastic. 

Tile Artists: Ailsa Duncan, Emer Casey, Autumn Loughery, Mary Leahy, Mary O’Donnell, John Connole, Bríd, Brigid Keane, Poona McNally, Brenda Morrissy, Rita Hurley, and Joan O’loghlen.

This piece was collaborative, and involved the same Art Group as the 2024 Macro-Before-Micro piece. I asked participants to use the traditional clay methods we learned, and plastic waste from their community to create textural wall-hanging tiles. Pictured above is a progress shot of Poona McNally’s piece, alongside the plastic waste she used to apply texture to her piece.

The Fountain of ReVision (2025) is made from a repurposed kiddie pool from the local dump, repurposed vacuum hose, industrial-grade pipe from the local dump, found traffic cone from Fanore beach, found water pump, metal loops from the local dump, wooden stakes from the local dump, bean sprouts, tomato plants, permanent ink and watercolor on paper.