My name is Caoimhe Stopes. I am a 22 year old woman from Newbridge, Co. Kildare and I have just completed my final year at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. I will be graduating with a Bachelors Degree in International Applied Materials, Glass and Ceramics. My primary practice lies within glass, where my main method of actualising my concepts is formed through lamp-working. Although glass is my preferred method of artistry, that does not limit me. I also thoroughly enjoy creating though ceramics, glazing and moving image. Much of my work focuses on matters that have an emotional impact on me, as well as societal issues and taboos. Having worked on a project about industrialisation and loss of wildlife, I have chosen to hone my degree show into far more personal issues. In my exhibition, I focus on my personal struggles with primary hyperhidrosis. This condition causes excessive sweating, and has been a huge challenge for me mentally, but considering the career I have chosen is also a physical obstacle too. My motivation is understanding societal constructs and aiming to change the way people feel about taboo subjects.
