Whispers of rhythm balance on my hands
Eleanor McCaughey
Commissioned by Draíocht
Wednesday 12 June — Saturday 28 September 2024
Curated by Sharon Murphy
Whispers of rhythm balance on my hands is inspired by the artist’s contemplation on the processes of making art
and in particular her investigation into the possibilities of paint as a medium in two- dimensional aspect and in
expanded three-dimensional iterations. These include sculptural assemblages, mixed media, video, textiles and print.
Her deeply intuitive and playful exploration of the materiality of paint via form, colour, rhythm, flow, gestural marks,
layering and collaging is in her own words ‘continually in flux’, evolving through research, studio-based
experimentation and reflection on personal experiences of healing from endometriosis and infertility, out of which her
conceptual concerns take form.
McCaughey’s work has personal and hidden meanings that are bound up in learned, lost and altered theological
ideologies and humanistic notions that the artist has been exposed to through time. Her work is rooted in the history of
art in particular medieval and Renaissance religious paintings, fragments of which fill her visual journals and function
as a form of visual thinking and as a core resource for her paintings. Of interest in particular is the history and politics
that surround the female body, the representation and construction of female social identity and the idealized
representation of woman throughout art history. Recently McCaughey has been drawn to the process of ‘Active
Imagination’ a method of analytical psychology which brings unconscious content to consciousness and produce a
wide array of images, conscious memory material, feelings, symbols, figures (animals, mythological) and images and
shapes of wholeness.
The work for this exhibition has emerged organically and site specifically over a long gestation period of 18 months.
McCaughey says of this process that having a studio space in Dublin is a great privilege, it is a safe space where an
artist can disconnect from the noise outside, slow down, digest thoughts and ideas and reconnect with the self. The
artist/curator relationship was dynamic and mutually enriching characterised by a sharing back and forth about art,
painting, femininity, female agency, mental health, histories and embodied memories all of which has seeped into the
exhibition in distilled and abstracted ways.
McCaughey's work is physical, tactile, and handmade with an equal focus on its shifting materiality. Both her painting
and sculpture for this exhibition reveal traces of the body, performance, and healing activity via brush stroke, mark
making, and moulding. It is important to McCaughey that these qualities lend a symbolic dimension to the work,
emitting a certain presence of the artist despite her absence. In turn it invites the viewer to inhabit the space and
experience the work.
Eleanor McCaughey
Commissioned by Draíocht
Wednesday 12 June — Saturday 28 September 2024
Curated by Sharon Murphy
Whispers of rhythm balance on my hands is inspired by the artist’s contemplation on the processes of making art
and in particular her investigation into the possibilities of paint as a medium in two- dimensional aspect and in
expanded three-dimensional iterations. These include sculptural assemblages, mixed media, video, textiles and print.
Her deeply intuitive and playful exploration of the materiality of paint via form, colour, rhythm, flow, gestural marks,
layering and collaging is in her own words ‘continually in flux’, evolving through research, studio-based
experimentation and reflection on personal experiences of healing from endometriosis and infertility, out of which her
conceptual concerns take form.
McCaughey’s work has personal and hidden meanings that are bound up in learned, lost and altered theological
ideologies and humanistic notions that the artist has been exposed to through time. Her work is rooted in the history of
art in particular medieval and Renaissance religious paintings, fragments of which fill her visual journals and function
as a form of visual thinking and as a core resource for her paintings. Of interest in particular is the history and politics
that surround the female body, the representation and construction of female social identity and the idealized
representation of woman throughout art history. Recently McCaughey has been drawn to the process of ‘Active
Imagination’ a method of analytical psychology which brings unconscious content to consciousness and produce a
wide array of images, conscious memory material, feelings, symbols, figures (animals, mythological) and images and
shapes of wholeness.
The work for this exhibition has emerged organically and site specifically over a long gestation period of 18 months.
McCaughey says of this process that having a studio space in Dublin is a great privilege, it is a safe space where an
artist can disconnect from the noise outside, slow down, digest thoughts and ideas and reconnect with the self. The
artist/curator relationship was dynamic and mutually enriching characterised by a sharing back and forth about art,
painting, femininity, female agency, mental health, histories and embodied memories all of which has seeped into the
exhibition in distilled and abstracted ways.
McCaughey's work is physical, tactile, and handmade with an equal focus on its shifting materiality. Both her painting
and sculpture for this exhibition reveal traces of the body, performance, and healing activity via brush stroke, mark
making, and moulding. It is important to McCaughey that these qualities lend a symbolic dimension to the work,
emitting a certain presence of the artist despite her absence. In turn it invites the viewer to inhabit the space and
experience the work.
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Swallowing mist to lick your mouth 2023
Mixed media installation
Mixed media installation
Swallowing mist to lick your mouth
Liminal Gallery
2nd December 2023 - 31st December 2023
Liminal Gallery are delighted to present ‘Swallowing Mist to Lick Your Mouth’ by Dublin based artist Eleanor McCaughey. This immersive solo exhibition delves into the complex terrain of female identity, presenting the artist's multifarious practice including installation, paintings, sculptures, and a sound collaboration with Irish sound artists Bosca Nua, offering an exploration into the history, politics, and societal constructs of the female body and identity.
‘Swallowing Mist to Lick Your Mouth’ was created during a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Monaghan, Ireland, and is a visceral and emotional response to the land.
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Lusty and Emotional 2023
Mixed media installation
Mixed media installation
Lusus
The Courthouse Gallery & Studios
11th August 2023 - 7th October 2023
Curated by Simon Fennessy Corcoran
Lusus brings together the work of five artists, Eleanor McCaughey, Fiona Gordon, Anna Spearman, Domnick Sorace and Joanna Hopkins. This exhibition explores the robust relationships between materiality, human experiences, and the impact the works have on our experience of spaces. Through a range of multi-faceted installations, encompassing painting, sculpture, video, sound, and various other media, the exhibition invites visitors to delve into the artists' distinct explorations of domesticity, environment, cultural heritage, and the physical and metaphysical connections between humans and the material world.
"Lusus" is a Latin word that can be translated as "play," "game," or "sport." Or a deviation from the norm. It conveys a sense of playful exploration and experimentation. In the context of an art exhibition title, "Lusus" suggests that the artists engage in a creative and imaginative exploration of materials, inviting viewers to join in the playful discovery of new sensory experiences.
The concept revolves around the exploration of materials and their ability to evoke experiences with visual art across various ideas and influences driving artistic discovery. Each artist's work delves into unique aspects of materiality, offering unique perspectives on the interplay between the tangible and intangible, physical and metaphysical. From the earth-bound cultural heritage quality of McCaughey's installations to the digital exploration of femininity in Gordon's work, from Spearman's joyous encounters with everyday materials to Sorace's distillation of sentiments, and finally, Hopkins' immersive interventions using native plants and human-made structures – all these perspectives converge to create an exhibition that celebrates the power of materials and their ability to shape our perception of the world.
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain 2023
Mixed media installation
Mixed media installation
Portals
Luan Gallery
29 April 2023 - 25 June 2023
Luan Gallery is delighted to present PORTALS; a group exhibition featuring artists Ann Maria Healy, Bassam Issa Al-Sabah, Eleanor McCaughey, Jennifer Mehigan, Daire O’Shea, and Lucy Sheridan and curated by Aoife Banks. The exhibition is kindly supported by the Arts Council, The exhibition will continue until 25th June.
PORTALS is a group exhibition that delves into playful dreamscapes and journeys across fictional realms. Through sculpture, installation, film, mixed media and paint, the artists featured in this exhibition offer pathways into speculative fictions and alternate worlds. PORTALS embraces the potentiality of technology, fantasy, and the unconscious mind in providing us with portals of escape from the ominous realities of our inner and outer worlds. The exhibition will incorporate newly commissioned and existing works including a site-specific outdoor sculptural installation by artist Daire O’Shea in direct response to the construction of the Athlone Greenway pedestrian bridge due to open in Summer 2023. PORTALS is the first exhibition to be curated by recently appointed curator Aoife Banks for Luan Gallery.
Eleanor McCaughey and Lucy Sheridan’s site-specific installation ‘Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain’ takes on the ruined aesthetics of the city of Oz (Return to Oz, 1985). This immersive work contemplates the dark sentiment running through Return to Oz through the fabrication of a fictional landscape that layers elements of sculpture, painting, video and sound. The installation deals with themes of displacement, escapism, and mental health, with obvious links to theatricality and film. Both artists are interested in the idea of elevating the status of selected everyday objects through various modes of display, lending new meaning and a facade of importance through altered modes of representation.
Luan Gallery
29 April 2023 - 25 June 2023
Luan Gallery is delighted to present PORTALS; a group exhibition featuring artists Ann Maria Healy, Bassam Issa Al-Sabah, Eleanor McCaughey, Jennifer Mehigan, Daire O’Shea, and Lucy Sheridan and curated by Aoife Banks. The exhibition is kindly supported by the Arts Council, The exhibition will continue until 25th June.
PORTALS is a group exhibition that delves into playful dreamscapes and journeys across fictional realms. Through sculpture, installation, film, mixed media and paint, the artists featured in this exhibition offer pathways into speculative fictions and alternate worlds. PORTALS embraces the potentiality of technology, fantasy, and the unconscious mind in providing us with portals of escape from the ominous realities of our inner and outer worlds. The exhibition will incorporate newly commissioned and existing works including a site-specific outdoor sculptural installation by artist Daire O’Shea in direct response to the construction of the Athlone Greenway pedestrian bridge due to open in Summer 2023. PORTALS is the first exhibition to be curated by recently appointed curator Aoife Banks for Luan Gallery.
Eleanor McCaughey and Lucy Sheridan’s site-specific installation ‘Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain’ takes on the ruined aesthetics of the city of Oz (Return to Oz, 1985). This immersive work contemplates the dark sentiment running through Return to Oz through the fabrication of a fictional landscape that layers elements of sculpture, painting, video and sound. The installation deals with themes of displacement, escapism, and mental health, with obvious links to theatricality and film. Both artists are interested in the idea of elevating the status of selected everyday objects through various modes of display, lending new meaning and a facade of importance through altered modes of representation.
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