Samir ‘Mahmood

My art practice explores themes of transformation, transcendence and queer existence – our humanness and other-worldliness. As an attempt to ‘queer’ the grammar of patriarchal society, my works are an act of disobedience by depicting a naked figure in the genre of sacred scripture art. As a research-based practice, I use techniques and mediums used in Indo-Persian miniature paintings. This genre of painting evolved from manuscript illuminations from the 11th to 13th centuries. I completed the first work of the series, titled Balcony 01, in residency at the Heinrich-Böll Cottage in 2021.
Traditional materials are used, such as handmade archival paper (wasli), dry pigments, chalk (sufaida) and pen carved from bamboo (qalam). Surfaces are prepared using repeated thin tea-washes or the application of chalk, and burnishing. Pigments are then added through a technique called Pardakht, a dry brushing technique in which colour is layered through short brushstrokes, giving the paintings more depth.

Conor Burke

My work is predominantly focused on exploring systemic themes, be they social, political, lingual, material or meta-physical, within which I seek to highlight social relations and the dialectical interactions that are the source of change within the world. A key theme that underpins much of my work is the concept of power and class and how that finds expression in the structures that we create as a society and how it is reflected in the built environment around us. l often make drawings and paintings of specific buildings with a certain social significance and then layer them with multiple perspectives, abstracting the image to an extent in order to give expression to a deeper social meaning such as class consciousness or our relation to nature or the likes. These more philosophical concerns act mainly as a point of embarkation but which also fuel the evolution of my work throughout the creative process.

My work is often based on certain vexations towards the systemic forces that dominate contemporary society, but rather than concentrating on the negative associations of this, I prefer to look at the positive potentiality for progressive change. My work up to this point has consciously excluded figurative representations of the human form, as I’m more concerned with expressing the structural nature of systemic oppression that exist, rather than the subjective or individualistic experiences that each of us go through. My work possesses a strong Marxian influence which often underpins the social expression that I am aiming to incorporate into the work. These concerns are more about my own subjective input, they act as the driving force that under pins my creative process. My work tends to look at the common threads that exist between our manufactured environment and that of the natural world and the symbiotic structures that exist within this relationship.

Aesthetic concerns play a significant role in how the work finds expression, these deeper social and philosophical concerns at a certain point give way to the simplicity of creating a visually pleasing image or structure. Aesthetics I feel It are important with regard to our collective need for order and symmetry in relation to making a connection with the viewer. Which in essence is actually a material reflection of these deeper systemic themes that I an attempting to address. My work often tends to start off with a simple image, design or text that appeals to me, and through a process of drawing or writing it evolves and incorporates various different elements throughout, I tend not to start off with a comprehensive plan but rather a loose outline and I just let the project evolve as I go, this method allows the work to take on a life of its own which can lead to sometimes unexpected and interesting results.

Luke Reidy

Architectural structures and the impact they have on their surroundings are often perceived as works of art. I have always had a fascination with form and balance in architecture and in particular I love the simplicity I can evoke with this. Through screen-printing I rebuild structures using simple shapes, vibrant colours and overlapping transparent layers. My architectural structures are broken down into the simplest forms folding and unfolding, using depths and planes which orientate in space as the flat image becomes almost three dimensional. The introduction of organic curved shapes brings a new dimension which contrasts with my sharp architectural forms and the inspiration for these shapes was drawn from the coast where I grew up in Co.Clare.

My use of colour highlights the depth of these unique forms and gives them visual energy. My vision is to create work that is clean, crisp and confident, structures with strong visual impact and complement modern-day
interiors.

Niamh Daniels

Niamh Daniels is an award-winning textile print designer and artist from Galway.
Since launching her business, Niamh has established a reputation for top quality, high-end accessories that are vibrant and distinctive. Her signature style are prints with a fine art approach, combining a strong use of colour, with her own drawing, painting and photography.
She is constantly inspired by the ever-changing landscape of the West of Ireland, its fauna, flora and dramatic skies.

Dani Gill

Dani is a writer, curator and creative producer based in the west of Ireland. She was the Director of Cúirt International Festival of Literature (2011-2016) and has also worked with Galway Theatre Festival, Ennis Bookclub Festival, Decadent Theatre Company, Words Ireland, County Councils, Arts Centres and venues nationwide.
In 2017 her debt poetry collection After Love was published by Salmon Poetry and went on to be made into a dance/theatre show that premiered at Galway International Arts Festival in 2021. Her next collection Lessons in Kindness will be published in Spring 2023. She also writes fiction and is currently under commission to write a theatre piece.
In 2022 she founded Match in the Dark, a writer support and advocacy platform.
She is also the Artistic Director of The Lighthouse Project, a site-specific collaborative process where artists respond to lighthouses and their environments around Ireland.

Jeanne Sheridan

I am originally from Galway and became heavily influenced by the landscapes and colours around me. My family and I moved to NEw Zealand 4 years ago and since my arrival I have loved indulging my curiosity in the natural landscape. New Zealand has a lot in common with Ireland with its ruggedness and vibrancy. I completed my diploma in ceramics through Otago polytechnic in Auckland studio potters and have been teaching local pottery classes for the past 2 years in Auckland. On my return to the emerald isles, The continued focus of my works will be an exploration of the world around us and the textural elements found in the natural environment.

Brooke Purnell

Intersecting the relationship between art + design, I predominantly work in graphic design to handcraft visual brands rooted in soulful storytelling. Outside of the digital realm, I am also an abstract artist specializing in acrylic mediums and minimalist textured pieces.

Moving to Galway 3 years ago, my work is heavily inspired by my interpretations of the experiences and natural world around me – the landscape of the coast, conscious and subconscious feelings, and shapes of nature in their most magical forms.

My bespoke pieces often depict abstract expressions, neutral undertones and natural hues with deep textural layers grounded in the delicate use of colour and mixed media.

Jodi Steel

Vibrant colours and funky accessories are the trademark look of Fine Wee Lass, a collection of handmade products from a Glaswegian girl living in the heart of Galway.

Naoise Sheridan

My current practice uses large-scale painting, installation, and mural work featuring dense botanical environments and naturalistic creatures of the nude female figure to explore our origins as human beings in the hope of gaining a greater understanding of our place in this world as a species. Homo sapiens have long preferred to view themselves as entirely set apart from animals, as different from them as they are to plants and yet this is not the case. In reality we are just another, more heavily populated species of animal. On an even deeper level with our surroundings, we are all just different species of organisms. Creatures of the earth, all beings, including humans are not separate from nature, but rather a part of it. Our forgotten place as creatures in this world has cemented us into an imagined order of environmental ignorance that brings with it a wave of negative human impact so vast that it has brought our current status up to being the most destructive parasitic species the world has ever witnessed. Through my work I focus on these topics, expressing my own personal reflections of discomfort and confusion over being a member of this species that I both love and am disgusted by, while also considering the idea that even though it is largely forgotten in the modern mind, we all still hold a connection to this earth and all other organisms on it. An acknowledgement of this connection and a rekindled respect for the earth are of the upmost importance if we as a species want to reclaim our true selves and escape the cycle of extinction we have carved for ourselves and all those around us. Naoise Sheridan is an award-winning Irish artist based between Galway and Wicklow. Her practice is primarily focused on human-kind’s forgotten place on the earth as creatures of nature, producing large-scale botanical paintings, installations, sculptures and murals featuring naturalistic creatures of the nude female figure. She is Co-Director of the 126 Gallery, Galway and has organised & curated multiple exhibitions over the past number of years. She has been awarded funding by the Arts Council of Ireland and graduated with a BA(H) in Contemporary Art in 2020. Alongside her practice she also creates installations for Irish music festivals such as Electric Picnic and has launched the Bleached Jungles project, a community-inclusive mural project aiming to reintroduce elements of nature into urbanized spaces.

Shane Cluskey

Shane Cluskey is an illustrator from Galway. He aims to tell a story in his pictures using dynamic composition with bold and deliberate use of colour, drawing your attention exactly where it needs to go. After completing a residency in the School of Visual Arts, New York he moved to London for 4 years, working as an illustrator. Did further education with the Illustration Academy in Kansas City and now resides in his hometown. His work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration and has worked with such clients as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Atheneum books / Simon & Schuster, O’Brien Press, Vinyl Moon Records, Rare Bird Lit, Totally Dublin and The Dublin Enquirer.

Photo credit: Boyd Challenger

Lily O’Shea

Lily O’Shea (b. 1997) is an artist and writer based in Cork concerned with political questions surrounding the contemporary labourer. Lily’s work utilizes performance, sculpture, and text to expand on the materiality of precarity while foregrounding various anxieties endured by the modern-day worker. Recent work explores the issue of sustaining an art practice while experiencing burn out, the effects of hyper-productivity and its ability to drain one’s creative resources. Lily’s research draws from reality tv, mailing lists, fiction and unfinished artworks to explore potential strategies against burnout. Recent solo exhibition include: slow puncture, Sample-studios, curated by Ali O’Shea, Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Cork, 2021. Group exhibitions include; A Caring Matter, Dublin Art Book Fair 2022, curated by Rosie Lynch, 1 MART GALLERY & STUDIOS DAC – STUDIO MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin, 2022; host/ghost, Rebound Arts Festival, group exhibition curated by Aoife Hayes and Glenn Dunlea, Cork, 2022; a passive house ii – collective burnout and changing time, presentation with Alison O’Shea at Rebel Reads, Cork 2021; Annual Awards Show, MART, Dublin 2021; a passive house, a publication initiated by Cork based curator Alison O’Shea, 2020; Rhetoric Degree Showcase, Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, 2020; Villa the End, Berlin Gallery Weekend, Charlottenburg, Germany, 2019. Recent writing include; ‘Beyond Tokenism’, an interview with Dr. Eve Olney of Radical Institute featured in Genuinely Seeking publication edited by Rachel Botha, Bloomers, 2022; ‘foggy’ a text featured on The Paper website, The Paper, 2021; ‘Laggard’, a text featured on The Paper website, The Paper, 2021; ‘Collaborative Survival in Precarious Times’, a text featured in Hypertext (Issue 06), Bloomers, 2020.