84
MAY 27th
JUNE 5th
Friday 27th : 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Saturday 28th - Sunday 5th : 10.00am - 5.00pm
Taispeantas na gCeimitheGraduate Degree Showcluain mhuire
4
foreword 06
ceramics 09
paint 15
print 33
sculpture 43
textiles 55
year 6 part time paint 95
5
contents
6
foreword
It has been a year of many ‘new’ discussions for the
students and staff at CCAM. New programmes,
new ideas, new people, new directions and new
opportunities have all either brought or are bringing
change in one form or another to CCAM. However,
one thing that has not changed is the passion,
enthusiasm, and creativity evident in our student’s
work. We particularly recognise the commitment of
our BA flexible mode graduates in completing their
sixth year of study with us. This year’s show once
again is a wonderful collection of diverse creative
talent and expression. It highlights the depth of
imagination and artistic abilities of our students, and
clearly demonstrates why CCAM has become the
location of choice in Galway for creative enterprises,
organisations, and artists. New visitors to CCAM
often feel that they have discovered a hidden or secret
treasure. The energy and atmosphere on campus,
fuelled by the symbiotic relationship between creative
students and impassioned teachers, is difficult to
explain but impossible to ignore. We have something
very special here in CCAM, and this exhibition
celebrates CCAM’s, and particularly our student’s,
contribution to Galway’s creative and cultural
landscape. These are exciting times in our community
as we work together as a city towards Galway’s 2020
bid for the European City of Culture. We hope our
graduates will stay connected with us, to each other,
and to communities of practice in Galway and artistic
networks beyond.
Marion McEnroy
7
foreword
Over the 6 years this course has provided the
theoretical frameworks for both art history and
critical analysis. These frames enable each student
to interrogate and critique one’s own art practice,
as a way of developing subjectivity. The studio
practice, with the rotation of different tutors
facilitated the exploration of various approaches
to art. As challenging as this was, time allowed for
the integration of ideas and the development of an
individual way.
The process of making art requires the total
engagement of all the senses of one’s being. Decisions
are made at each stage of the process through Action.
The process of engaging with art requires that the
viewer is active, engaging all their senses and thus
becomes part of the on-going process of making art.
Fiona Rooney 6th Year Part-Time Student
‘In order to understand any act of painting, we have to know about this strange transformation of vision
into movement and material, and about the place of this transformation: the painter’s acting body’
Helena De Preester, 2013
8
9
ceramics
10 cermamics
Inspired by the social constructs of gender binary. We are each born to be either male or female sex, but as
we grow, we develop our gender. However this is not always the case and gender is pushed on both humans
and objects.
My work combines both genders through the use of slip and clay. I use “masculine” and “feminine” objects to
question gender stereotypes.
Aisleen Tierney
11cermamics
Inspired by the predictability and unpredictability of nature, life and death, night and day, time and movement.
My hand-thrown ceramic work emulates and captures the fleeting movement of water produced by rain drops.
This visual symphony of repetition creates transient circular patterns, these ripples overlap and disappear before
being replaced and the process continues. The solid ceramic form provides a stable structure, light, shadow and
reflection which generate a moving or “living” virtual surface dimension.
Elaine Garvey
12
Through the medium of clay I have produced a series of dog portraits that are both visually interesting whilst
capturing a sense of calmness. Through interacting and exploring these ambiguous sculptors, I hope the interaction
becomes lost in the curves and swirls of these creatures. As the world becomes full of frustrations, it’s the
companionship of my four legged friends that I desire most. So much of the contemporary animal art today uses
the animal form as a vehicle in expressing some aspect of human drama, I want to create a piece in response to
them and their magic.
Elizabeth Lartey
cermamics
13
[email protected] leahmcveigh93.wix.com/ceramics
Colour is a principle preoccupation of my work which takes its inspiration from the geology of the Earth and
the mysteries of the Universe. I create glazes from natural minerals sourced from the Earth’s crust. These colours
reflect formations found in nature, to colours found in deep space. My glazed orbs are hung in orbit around each
other, creating tension and a rhythmic flow to the gravitational forces between the viewer and the pieces.
Leah McVeigh
cermamics
14
15
paint
16
mcallisterart.com
My work is intended to evoke a deliberate friction by challenging notions of place and personal space within our
immediate environment. Elements are arranged within the installations to entice the viewer into a participatory
role in an immersive experience. This is done in the hope that the curious viewer will emerge with an inclination
for further participation and engagement.
This installation is an explorable space containing a dialogue on the possibilities and opportunities, chimeras,
dreams and tragedies, that may shift and change throughout our lives.
Audrey McAllister
paint
17
My work is a series of portraiture and figurative paintings, using the two main members of my family, my mother and
father along with myself and my dog as the subjects, set against the backdrop of the interiors of our family home.
Bernard Dooley
paint
18
[email protected] facebook.com/connorrobertsonart
My current work deals with the figure in the landscape where the inclusion of animals references the primal aspect
of being human.
The painting process, whereby the paint is diluted to such an extent that the colour has almost been removed,
contrasts with the heavy application of bright colours to draw attention to the elements that are alive in the painting.
Connor Robertson
paint
19
“If what is seen and experienced is portrayed in the language of logic, then it is science. If it is communicated
through forms whose constructions are not accessible to the conscious mind but are recognized intuitively,
then it is art.”
A. Einstein
Ewa Zdybel
paint
20
My work is concerned with juxtaposing human body parts to create united forms. As I work I am conscious of how
my own body moves and feels. I employ fleshy tones and gestural marks and abstract the image by pouring paint
onto the surface until the figures are almost unrecognisable. I want the viewer to feel a sense of mystery about my
work, the bright colours exist to engage the viewer so that they can form their own interpretation of my work.
Helena Grady
paint
21
The art shares a bath with ecology, economic, political, social and cultural entities it becomes deadly serious and
strangely funny. The work tries to raise consciousness, by asking horrible questions while making people laugh at
it all. The medium that my work has tried to coalesce with has been the moving image mostly with some painting,
sculpture and performance. My moving images relies heavily on voice over’s that hopefully point a finger or give
the middle finger to certain phenomenon in the local area around east Galway and its surrounding hinterland
planet earth.
Joseph Nix
paint
22
[email protected] facebook.com/karendunneartist karendunne.carbonmade.com
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that
world to someone else..”
Georgia O’Keeffe
I explore the use of floral still life in a contemporary manner. My process includes gathering imagery then
modifying these through photoshop and then creating expressionistic blooming florals. The paintings themselves
reveal layers of emotions and expose dimensions of colour and tone that subvert the nature of the flower,
transforming them into a painterly landscape.
Karen Dunne
paint
23
I use a combination of drawing and painting in my practice. The subject matter in my work is based on personal
photography and screenshots from documentaries. My work is based around the feeling of the untruthfulness
of contemporary society. What I mean when I say untruthfulness is the feeling of existing in a false and staged
atmosphere of mindless triviality. This idea of how things seldom are what they appear is the reason for combining
differently sourced imagery to create a body of work. I view my role in my work as being an observer who paints
and draws to make sense of so called certainties.
Lisa Conroy
paint
24
My work is about creating symbolic connections within non-liner narratives.
This work has come about through the graphic novel format. This format I believe creates an interesting space to
view visual storytelling. My work makes use of many mediums, and these mediums themselves are used to convey
the stream of consciousness type connections in the work.
Mark White
paint
25
facebook.com/Nicole-Roan-Artwork [email protected]
My work is primarily based on the visible world and invisible world around us, using textile sources and cellular
patterns as my main source of inspiration. I use process painting in an experimental way to create my own original
arrangements. These unlikely pairings create interesting juxtaposition for the viewer.
Nicole Roan
paint
26
The desire to capture space, time, emotion and experience cannot be fully captured on canvas. Through my
painting process I hope I have created a unique visual vocabulary – using colour to impart a strong emotional
charge through visual means.
“It’s all a risk. Living life is basically about you entering one situation you may not want of enter. Everything has
stakes, everything has meaning, and everything has consequences.”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Rachel Varden
paint
27
I was always fascinated with the way computer components and peripherals were laid out with respect to each
other. I am investigating the use of space and the component relationship in the way they complement and
sometimes fight with each other. Space is an empty area that is always used.
Red Burke
paint
28
This work investigates the notion of home, looked at from a personal and universal perspective. I gather objects.
Sometimes they are chosen for their colour but more often it’s their materiality that I find attractive; intangible
curiosities that might be found in a skip or a charity shop. Placed, positioned, moved and re-moved the objects take
on new meanings. The work is found in the process of assemblage. Ideas emerge from the silent dialogue between
eye, heart and hand. The rhythmic repetition of labour fed by the emotional currency of memory and experiences.
Home was the centre of the world because it was the place where a vertical line crossed with a horizontal one.
The vertical line was a path leading upwards to the sky and downwards to the underworld. The horizontal line
represented the traffic of the world, all the possible roads leading across the earth to other places. Thus, at home,
one was nearest to the gods in the sky and to the dead of the underworld. This nearness promised access to both.
And at the same time, one was at the starting point and, hopefully, the returning point of all terrestrial journeys.
Rosie O Connell
paint
29
“Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were
young in…Fear and resentment of what is new is really a lament for the memories of our childhood.”
Sir Peter Medawar
My current practise oscillates between figuration and abstraction to create a sense of landscape and contemplates
our connection to place and memory. In creating a kind of garden through the painted image, the work explores
notions of personal growth as depicted in the ever changing moods of the landscape we inhabit. I am interested
by the garden variety of human responses to any change and question the transitory and transitional nature of our
very existence as we journey through life.
Therese Murphy
paint
30
Facebook: Tom Mclean Art Instagram: tommclean_art [email protected]
I am a figurative painter who works primarily in oils but also incorporates elements of mixed media. My work
focuses on the figure, the emotive qualities of the face and the fractured environments they inhabit suggest
ominous narratives within.
Tom McLean
paint
32
33
34
Japanese printmaking is a key influence within my work, specifically ukiyo-e, known as “pictures of the floating
world”. Whereas Japanese printmakers would draw on folktales or daily life as subject matter, my work focuses
on memories I have from various camping and hiking trips, combined with varied environments from all over
the world.
It is an attempt to capture my own personal floating world, one trapped between the boundaries of memory
and imagination.
Amy McMahon
35
These prints are a series of representations of the important individuals in my life. Rather than the conventional
portrait, these images are constructed using common place objects in a surreal style. These are items that carry
various associations with the particular person. The scale and placement of object in each image is related to
memory and subjective experience of each personality.
Ciara Wall
36
David Creane is a Print Artist from Galway in the west of Ireland. His work conveys his opinions on Social and
Political issues, often with a humorous approach, combined with the use of appropriation. He draws on influences
from Artists such as William Hogarth, Chris Orr, Pieter Breugel, Anthony Davies and Hieronymus Bosch. He takes
a world view based upon his experience of living for several years in the U.K. and the Middle East. The message in
his art is often about raising consciousness of human suffering and Political injustice around the world.
David Creane
37
A journey brought to fulfilment, embracing spirituality and looking for that elusive inner peace. My inspiration no
longer in this world, leaves behind impressions that will reverberate into my future.
Gerard Fahy
38
“I want to cultivate the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown.”
Kollwitz
My imagery transforms known objects from purely representative, be it man made or organic into a sentient
evocation of memory, enhancing the notion of time passing or a life lived, in the same way the seventeenth
century Dutch printmaker Rembrandt used known imagery to symbolize a nationalistic patriotism by simply
depicting ordinary lives. The mezzotint process allows me to manipulate the familiar going from the functional,
to vestige, to art.
Michael Murphy
39
Passion for architecture has helped me develop my way of seeing structures and the invisible plains they are
built upon. The prints enable the viewer to see the balance between the levels through the use of perspective
and line. The synchronicity of the buildings are seen when these lines intersect. My work shows the relevance of
symmetry in architecture through buildings coinciding seamlessly together. This is a physical representation of
my thought process.
Paul Geraghty
40
Drawing inspiration from graphics and design, I combine detailed illustrations with multiple screen printing
techniques to create a world of abstract cartoon. The vibrant colours and hints of everyday objects give a subtle
familiarity yet remains alien in its context.
Stephen Connelly
41
order duality chaos
simplicity acceptance
focus numb ecstasy rage thrill pain fear joy
confusion calm silence
shush.
Susan Roche
42
43
sculpture
44
In football there are hostilities, gambling, tensions and extreme emotions running underneath the surface of the
game. I played the game as a kid in primary school where there were no sponsorships or stadiums. Betting and
violence are often controlled by Ultras who are extreme football fans operating across the world. In the finals of
the sport’s biggest tournaments, these showpieces offer a stage of glory or despair, being one minute from losing
this final match.
Andrew Hayes
sculpture
45
My work explores the relationship between man and nature. It can generally take its form through video,
photography or physical sculptural forms. Sub themes of my work encompass identity, territory and time. I like to
work with organic materials and some of my pieces can include living form such as plants animals and insects.
Caimin Jacob
sculpture
46
Duo testiculi ei sunt, et bene pendents
I explore the transgressive and insidious practices of ancient religions. This work examines the male dominance
of organised religion and questions the need for childhood indoctrination before the age of reason. I have used a
combination of video, performance and installation to explore the hidden meaning of rituals and relics. I am the
altar upon which sacrifice will be made.
Conor Lane
sculpture
47
My work concerns itself with the concept of causality, cause and effect, and the notion that the present is
the result of a prior chain of events, very little of which within our control. It explores the relationship
between objects and the forces that act upon them in space. Considering the architecture of a given location,
the materiality of the objects and the forces acting therein, the work becomes a negotiation between these
elements in space.
Daniel Patrick Carter
sculpture
48
[email protected] www.giannatashatomasso.com www.informartists.com
The Networked Landscapes is a body of work based around research which points to the role of the artist as
extolling the virtues of enterprise and social innovation in order to fit within the remit of the culture and creative
industries. The departure point of the installation stems from a critical look at the phenomenon of creative cities
and the instrumentalisation of artists within the culture production paradigm. For more details on the body of
research accompanying this work please visit www.institutionarts.com.
Gianna Tasha Tomasso
sculpture
49
Having initially used photography to document my work in the past, I decided to explore the medium further
in order to create the artwork itself. Having always maintained a keen interest in the fashions and aesthetics of
bygone eras, I decided to cultivate a sense of aesthetic within my photographic practices which was similar to the
candid, lo-fi snapshots synonymous with Polaroids and disposable cameras. This led me to document and explore
my relationship with my environment due to how it is ever-changing whilst also maintaining traces of the past,
much like many individuals’ own personal tastes.
Laura Crosse
sculpture
50
My work consists of mixed media installation with found objects, video and sound. The work develops as a
response to a set of ideas or the narrative contained within a found object: its history, function, symbolic meaning,
socio-political relevance.
The themes central to the work are varied: they can have a social-political base but they also stem from a more
intimate place in such a way that the work reflects both personal and universal concerns. They span from the
environment to human rights and the way the ‘first world’ affects developing countries, to introspection, memory
and spirituality.
Lidia Montemurri
sculpture
51
I am looking at the human body as a landscape. I am primarily interested in the landscape of my family. As we
age this landscape is greatly affected by time. I am exploring the relationship between myself, my family and
the changing landscape I have grown up in. Through photography and video I explore the spaces, distances and
closeness between my family.
Ruth Millar
sculpture
52
I am currently exploring the boundaries between the female body and its environment, focusing on notions of
ownership, dominance and aesthetics.
I am examining the societal expectations placed upon the female body; how females are simultaneously looked
at and displayed as objects of desire. By subverting this, I challenge cultural and societal norms of which both
objectify and control the female body.
Through the use of sculpture, video, performance and photography, I use the body as a language, a vehicle of
expression, to externalise and communicate what is essentially an internal and private issue.
Sophie Egan
sculpture
54
55
textiles
56
I am inspired by the containment everyday objects, how they are stored in interior spaces and how they so often
evade our consciousness. Ordinary objects and spaces form a significant part of the archive of our lives, but often
we don’t really notice them. Using this source of inspiration I have designed a collection of printed textiles and
storage items suitable for use in compact interior spaces, aimed at urban renters who travel and move frequently. I
have used both hand and digital printing methods, with accents of stitching, to create my collection.
Alison Meehan
textiles
57
Inspired by the beautiful qualities found upon the shoreline, I have taken influence from the colours, textures,
shapes and mood of this landscape. Collecting organic and non-organic items that have washed ashore, I have
extracted qualities from these objects and have applied them through use of traditional tufting techniques and
embellishment, resulting in an unexpected collection of garments and soft furnishings.
Fiona Bulfin
textiles
58
Inspired by a love of the ocean and the mystery of what lies beneath the surface, I wanted to create fun and
inventive prints for children’s interiors.
This collection would appeal to parents with a quirky sense of humour who appreciate imaginative and colourful
design and want their children to have interesting and whimsical bedrooms.
Featuring a variety of soft furnishings, framed wall hangings and prints, this marine inspired collection has a warm
colour palette with shades of underwater blue and eye catching bright tones taken from exotic fish and coral.
Geraldine Tobin
textiles
59
Life amidst the Corrib Gas Dispute viewed through the rich textile heritage of Erris.
The Beating of the Heart
In 2008 I stumbled upon a view, The Dun Chaochain area, the Local area.
I knew this place I thought, and loved it. I didn’t know why, some thing’s are just so.
Altered forever… I bear witness to its pain.
They say Shell replaced Erris sod for sod,
defying anyone to spot the disturbance.
But they forgot to look in the kitchen, the bedroom, the heart and soul…
These rips and tears Shell cannot replace Heartbeat by Heartbeat. Giselle Harvey
Giselle Harvey
textiles
60
Most Beautiful People are Broken and Bound.
Developed from a theme of the beauty of ageing I have created nostalgic prints and hand-painted textile pieces of
wholesome colour and dusty reminders of our youth with modernistic qualities and techniques
At the end of the day, it all boils down to that sense of place, the soft light calling on the valves of our mind from
where echoes the sweet songs and memories of our youth.
Grace Lavin
textiles
61
Where Science ends and Art begins. In “Art Immune”, varieties of colour and texture are captured to illustrate
shapes and forms of bacteria and viruses, generally considered to be unwelcome specimens. Ironically, there is
a natural beauty to these repulsive microorganisms which cannot be viewed by the naked eye and have claimed
many lives. Initiatives such as the “Clean Hands Save Lives” throughout health-care sectors are vital to first-class
health. Fortunately we may continue to admire the mysterious beauty of potentially deadly killers in a safe way.
Hien Cao Nguyen
textiles
62
[email protected] Facebook Page: Kerrie McCormack Textile Art
“It is only in the world of objects that we have time and space and selves.”
T.S. Eliot
A little boys shoes. To us they are old, worn and not fit for use. But he refuses to throw them out. In his mind they
hold superpowers, which allow him to become the fastest boy in the universe. A mother’s sacred relic. She relies
upon its power to help guide her in fulfilling her duties as a loving parent.
Reflecting on the relationship between Mother and Son, I record our objects, highlighting them as the powerful
possessions we perceive them to be.
Kerrie McCormack
textiles
63
“You’re as soft as a marshmallow, you need to harden up”
Many people portray themselves to others in a way that contradicts the emotions that they are experiencing
internally. A hard shell can be put up to protect the tenderness of what is going on inside. My work shows the
contrast between the hard outer layer and the soft inner layer. I used a mixture of constructed textiles, print and
knit to create pieces that are both soft and hard to show the frailty of the human condition. The clothes and
jewellery people wear are ways of projecting an image of themselves that they want people to see. I envisage the
pieces that I have created being worn by a free spirited person who embraces life and goes out and lives their life
in the way that they want. They use the clothes that they wear as armour against negative forces that thrive on
bad feelings and use fashion as a way of projecting their happiness.
Lisa Kenny
textiles
64
My work is based on the research study of shells and certain qualities of nests as a natural source, where I have
focused equally on their lines and colour. Using a combination of photography and Photoshop, I was able to create
and produce many samples, both digital and hand printed onto fabric. These prints will be used in a collection of
fashion designs aimed for summer beach wear.
Pamela Kavanagh
textiles
65
My work interrogates alcoholism in Ireland today using cloth to evoke awareness and empathy. The process
included interviews from treatment centres, halfway houses, addiction councillors and surveys to highlight the
public’s opinion on this stigmatic topic. While documenting the emotional, mental and vulnerable journey of
sufferers caught up in the web of addiction, I utilised fabric that is strongly connected to my topic, to create work
that gives material expression to some shocking statistics.
Sabrina Fallon
textiles
66
67
year 6part time
paint
68
My inspiration comes from the texture and structure in nature. Looking at my environment, old walls of old
buildings, the roughness of them. Plants like thistles, the harshness of them. How nature responds to the
environment. My work involves the process of mark-making, using the medium of ink on paper.
Cathy Hopkins
year 6 part time print
69
“I like the idea that everything in the world is a ‘shape’ with the potential for re-representation on canvas”
Clodagh Wade
year 6 part time print
70
My work is based on traditional line and form and is influenced by the everyday objects and patterns in
my environment.
I use mixed media to explore the way different mediums interact and co-relate.
Deirdre Murphy
year 6 part time print
71
My work is based on toys and found objects that elicit memories from the past and present. Some objects are
placed in unfamiliar juxtapositions. They remind us of our childhood days when dolls and roller-skates were our
favourite pastimes. The use of colour plays an important role in my work. It explores the nostalgic era of that time.
Elaine McHugh
year 6 part time print
72
“I think of words of longing: a landscape
out to the very edge of what’s possible”
‘A Quiet Joy’ Yehuda Amichai
Translated from Hebrew by Chana Bloch
My art is about taking the paint ‘out to the very edge of what’s possible’.
Fiona Rooney
year 6 part time print
73
My artwork originated from my experimentation with collage on diverse surfaces using found objects. Ideas are
developed straight onto a board, and later transferred to the final metaphor and covered in a combination of two
colours giving unity to the composition.
Helena O’Connor
year 6 part time print
74
What motivates my interest stems from abstract form and geometric shapes. I work with acrylic and mixed
media and my palette can dictate direction. My passion for art is an ongoing exciting journey, where each day
I’m rewarded with new ground.
Loretta Costello
year 6 part time print
75
I attempt to imagine or define this conflicting coalescing world to express a modern sensibility, analysing the
ephemerality of humanity’s creations in the face of nature and time.
Meadhbh Ni Eidhin
year 6 part time print
76
Everything I do originates in the real world, not limited to objects or places but pretty much anything. I try to
come up with different sources for images, different shapes and planes of perspective. The space between, the
light behind. I might start drawing a real object and see how it goes. Try to get something that works. The act of
painting, and the end result, tends to take over from what is depicted.
Stephanie McLaughlin
year 6 part time print
77
I have sailed into the tranquil
waters at the eye of my storm
and I am quietly expanding it
with my newly acquired but
secret calm.
John F. McCarthy
Veron Flannery
year 6 part time print
The students would like to acknowledge the help
and support received from all staff at CCAM
which includes Lecturing staff, Technicians,
Librarians, Cleaning team, Administration,
Canteen staff and Caretaking
Many thanks
specialthanks
80
note
81
Taispeantas na gCeimitheGraduate Degree Showcluain mhuire
