My practice is rooted in the visual dialogue between movement and material. I explores mark-making informed by my lifelong involvement in Irish dancing. Inspired by the rhythmic nature of the sport, I began thinking about the traces of my steps and the repetition of the movement, translating it into visual sequences that echo the discipline and musicality of the dance. Each step becomes a trace of movement with the rhythm and precision of the dance steps shaping my visual language. In this way, the canvas becomes a kind of floor, exploring the intimate relationship between surface and support.My current body of work is based on the group of traditional set dances that are enriched with Irish culture and folklore. Each figure has a prescribed sequence, yet every gathering inflects its own tempo and story. This duality informs my approach to the painting by adding a layer of paint and then taking its away, an analogue to the dance’s steps. As well as carving out the negative spaces left behind. The resulting surface holds traces of the dance and its form.
