Durational performance at Mart Gallery, Rathmines, Dublin, 2016
Bio
Kate McElroy is a contemporary artist currently based in Cork City. Originally from Limerick she completed her B.A. in ceramics in L.S.A.D. in 2013 and a Higher Diploma in Art Education in 2014. She is about to begin an MA in Art and Process from Crawford Art college and is a member of sample studios.
She has exhibited and performed nationally and Internationally including taking part in a recent new media exhibition 'Building Bridges' which toured India and Myanmar. Past exhibitions include her solo show 'Effusion' in Clon. Arts Centre and a 2 person show 'Plexus' in Galway City Gallery.
Her work encompasses a range of media including mixed media, ceramics, performance, photography and video.
Artist statement
My work is a result of inquiry into the ever changing and evolving states of the individual. How this is reflected spiritually, physiologically and psychologically and how these connect to each other. I aim to express in my work aspects of the vast inner world that often get overlooked.
I aim to capture the wealth of human experience from extreme highs to lows, from feelings of oneness to disconnection. There is a tension and energy apparent in my work as I explore this fluctuation between states of being.
My work is underpinned by psychological and spiritual theorists such as Carl Jung. I am also interested in the mind/body/emotion connection which has been illuminated by experiences in Alexander Technique and by writers such as Bessel Van Der Kolk.
The relationship between the body and the mind, the self and the outer world and how they affect one another or work in union is imbedded in my practice. A blurring of lines between these entities is conveyed, suggesting that that are not separate but inextricably linked.
I use a variation of mediums and processes including ceramics, mixed media, photography, performance and video to express these ideas. I work in an intuitive yet considered manner using materials to create visceral and dynamic effects.
At present I am working on a series of mixed media drawings which incorporate natural materials. Using semi transparent papers, inks and organic materials I evoke an ephemeral quality. These abstract pieces are a result of a synthesis of perception and emotion, the inner consciousness and the outer world amalgamating.
The combination of real organic materials incorporated into the works and the hidden/unveiling aspect of the semi transparent material make one question what is real and what is illusionary. Work by the philosophers such as Heidegger inform this work and his theory on ‘being’.
