My practice explores care, ageing and the body through fragile, skin like surfaces. I create all my own materials using latex, Pears soap, horsehair, wool and tissue paper that I contact print with plants from my farm in Leitrim. For me the land and the studio are one continuous process. The plants I grow from seed, the wool and horsehair from the animals I care for, these are not just materials but part of a wider cycle of nurturing and attention that connects the land, animals and people. Through slow, repetitive processes of layering, staining and physical handling, these surfaces respond to touch and gravity, forming creases, sagging folds and stains that carry visible traces of labour and time. Pears soap in particular brings a powerful sensory memory of washing and looking after others. The tissue, soap and hair each carry their own story of fragility, intimacy and domestic care. Rather than depicting the body directly, I allow its presence to emerge through material behaviour. The folds and marks become quiet records of touch, vulnerability and care. This work grows from my lived experience as a psychiatric nurse and the many years I spent providing hands on care for sick family members. In the installation What the Body Remembers, I create a quiet, intimate space where material fragility quietly mirrors the fragility of care itself.
