Katie O’Neill is a visual artist with a multidisciplinary practice that is concerned with themes of identity and psycho-geography. In June 2012 she self-published the artist’s book ‘Eternal Light’ which conveys the complex experiences and whirring anxieties of an individual in their immediate environment. As a point of entry, the artist’s book communicates an intimate narrative; traces of verdant landscape are countered by images of uninhabited spaces and urban monoliths, depicting a darkly poetic sense of isolation. Photographs of abandoned scenes, sublime and unsettling, changing in format and tone are placed alongside her personal writing and drawings.
These works have been revisited and re-presented in an expanded exhibition format that includes earlier works from ‘Performance’ a series of 100 type Polaroids. ‘Performance’ is a visualization of feelings of frustration, loss, confusion and helplessness. Introducing private spaces and performative gestures these images convey the importance of self-examination as a tool for growth and explores the use of the self-portrait as a means to do so. O’Neill’s work often combines natural light and environment to represent a state of transition, outsiderness and a desire to escape the mainstream. Honesty and vulnerability permeate the work, the ebb and flow of emotion is framed and temporarily controlled giving pause, an opportunity to consider how we as individuals are affected by our surroundings.
The works exhibited at TACTIC Gallery have been created through the Amharc Fhine Gall Award and we would like to acknowledge the support of Fingal Arts Office and Fingal County Council.