Burren graduates for show in 126 Gallery

Collette Egan and Mollie Douthit, who graduated from the Burren College of Art this year with Masters of Fine Art will exhibit their work at the city’s 126 Gallery from this Friday, May 16, until June 1.

Egan’s practice is founded on the act of drawing, in its instinctive and immediate nature, which serves to capture the essence of being-in-the-world.

Through experimental drawing she attempts to trace journeys through life, paying particular attention to material encountered along the way. Items from specific environments become the drawing material, for example, the chalk from the sea bed describes the wave movement of the sea; a found seagull feather becomes a tool for drawing; wind, rain and frost leave their mark on paper stretched and loaded with ink. The use of archival footage, meanwhile, enables an otherwise absent connection with family history and memory.

Using transient materials for immersive installations and then erasing the materials mean that the viewer is only able to experience the work for a limited time.

Douthit uses still-life paintings to explore objects, which exist in physical reality. Traditional still-life objects such as food and vernacular items are her subjects.

The subject of each painting floats in a field of space, creating a state of tension that questions its gravitational ground. The images are initially sparse, and the subjects are simple, but demand a closer investigation as subtle layers of application are revealed.

Collette Egan received her Masters of Fine Art from the Burren College of Art in 2014 and her Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from Wimbledon School of Art in 2008. She was recently selected for inclusion in the RHA annual exhibition and Something Recalled at Glór, Ennis, curated by Helen Carey, Director of Limerick City Gallery.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.