(Forbidden) Embrace

This work explores my ongoing engagement with our material world.  Lockdown had many negative impacts and constraints on our lives while we cocooned ourselves.  However, it also gave us time to reflect on the many things we do not discern or appraise.

I works with my hands in keeping with the deep-rooted crafts heritage of a rural society in which I lives. I transform materials using slow skills and processes such as hand dying and sculpting, drawing inspiration from the magnificent sea and landscapes off my native Ireland, together with her love of rhythm and music.

Through this piece I hope to challenge the innovative the way in which we look at the world through everyday materials.  I predominantly work with the polyester material, VELCRO.  There is a sense of connection to these hook and loop ribbons through my childhood memories.

I strives to push the boundaries of my practice through scale and colour with the creation of a highly sensory environment where both luminosity and acoustics alter as you explore the piece. There is a forbidden tactility to the work were the innate desire to touch this familiar material is constrained and playfully cocooned as a piece of art in a formal setting.

Below is a link to a video created by R&A collaborations featuring the exhibitors who’s work was selected to be curated within the excellence category of the exhibition. Rachel discusses the processes needed to create and sculpt the piece, her clip starts at 1min 55sec.

Materials: 800m Velcro, Aluminium hoops, chain

Dimensions: 80cmx80cm x600cm

Photography Credit: Scott Murray