Veiling

In Irish folklore, the Pleiades (An Stróilín in Irish) are concurrent with harvest time, and preparation for the darkest, most harsh part of the year. Alcyone, my star of focus, is at the heart of the Pleiades and is associated with psychic vision as well as expanded perception beyond the material world. I see Alcyone’s influence as an interweaving mediator between the cosmic and terrestrial, bringing introspective light into the darkest part of the year, illuminating the spaces that may be hidden during the active seasons.

Using Alcyone as a lens, I have been working with the bramble, a plant I contend with daily in its dominance of my garden. Resisting containment, the bramble sprouts and spreads vigorously through the land, but rewards us by turning into a nutritious berry in the Autumn. 

In this sculpture Veiling, presented as a cubic framework of interwoven objects, a curtain is pulled back to reveal a tiny space beyond. This curious underlying structure invites viewers to peek inside the timber frame and see as a bramble plant seems to be expanded past its physical limits and into an interstitial space, moving between digital and organic matter.

Presentation of this work was supported through the Arts Act Support from the @arts_in_co_kildare

2026

Mixed media sculpture

65 × 65 × 65 cm