Taking inspiration from my local beach of Ballyheigue bay in Co.Kerry, my art practice is a phenomenological ecological exploration of the Atlantic Ocean. Ballyheigue’s beach is my chosen site, and I investigate it through a processes called Deep-Mapping, which consists of walking, observing, listening to, collecting and researching. A fluid slow residency.

Through this I investigate themes of environmental concerns, sedimentation, flooding, fluidity and waves. This practice employs the use of mixed media, inks, collage, mono screen-printing, cyanotype and installation techniques. In my studio I harness these explorations through the lens of a chance and process-based practice to create my work. I also harness the sea water from my site and bring it back into my studio, intuitively smearing it across the large sheets of paper, allowing the water to buckle and distort the paper while creating almost archipelagic pools of water, where then I go back in and add in all my other chosen media like sand and acrylic inks. I leave them to stain and place other materials from the site on top of the surface to mimic the beach and the waters natural process, layering rice, crepe or tissue paper on top to soak away the excess water after it has flooded the surface. I am left with a sediment of marks that have been buried into the paper. I look towards chance based intuitive artists for inspiration, like Tracy Hill with her hybrid spaces that understand the geological, informing the viewer of her own experience. Also Helen Frankenthaler for her fluid abstractions and Antonia Akien for her engagement with the landscape and materiality.