Meshworking showcases the work of seven emerging artists from various regions on the island of Ireland and the world, participating in the Master’s programme in Art and Environment. Highlighting the relational dynamic between research processes and conceptual fabrication, organic and inorganic materials, Meshworking draws out the knotted systems that underlie our everyday lifelines, through a diverse range of media. From sculpture to sound, virtual reality and installation, the exhibition presents the work of TU Dublin graduates– Dianne Curtin, D. Martins, Terry Farnell, Hina Khan, Niamh Seana Meehan, Niamh Ní Chearbhaill and Fiona Hayes.

Guest speakers at the exhibition opening include, Dr. Orla McDonagh, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, TU Dublin and Judith Gilbert, Project Officer, Comhar na nOileán. 

Reflecting on the Meshworking exhibition, Ann Davoren, Director of Uillinn says “we are really delighted to present this graduate exhibition showcasing this exciting and innovative Master’s programme. The work in the show is ambitious and inventive, reflecting the capability of this student group and the calibre of the programme, the first ever Master’s degree to be located in West Cork. As with the foundational BA in Visual Art Degree Programme located on Sherkin Island, this archipelagic master’s is a significant arts and cultural resource for this region and has extended the range of creative opportunities not only for islanders, but for the broader West Cork community.”

The MA Art and Environment (MAAE) uniquely combines post-studio art practice, interdisciplinary research, virtual teaching, island studies and community engagement. Taking contemporary art’s relationship with environments – ecological, spatial, political, economic – as its object of study, the MAAE instructs students in artistic practice that is shaped by ‘archipelagic thinking’ (a post-colonial spatial discourse that emphasises relationality, locality, and decolonisation) and a pedagogy that is ‘world-centred’. Located in the West Cork archipelago and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, the programme is supported by a team of artists, lecturers, and researchers based in the TU Dublin School of Art and Design and by an interdisciplinary, island-based and international, network of peers and colleagues. With its focus on environmental art practice and community art-related knowledge, the students are actively involved in contemporary culture as organisers, makers and commentators.

Course Director Dr Glenn Loughran says “at a time when our earth systems and political structures are so volatile and chaotic, this year’s exhibition Meshworking gives form to our collective environmental experience. Reflecting on bodies of water, relational entanglements, intersectional environmentalism and war, the exhibition captures the urgencies and intensities of life and living through climate change”.