Bio:
I ‘take’ photographs. The idea of discomfort, as a raw material within my work, interests me. It underlies it all & my existence. Dissonance abounds in a subtly obvious way. Quietness speaks to me in a loud world. There is a lot of material to play with within the idea of discomfort. Talking to oneself for one. Holding the breath to take a photograph. Breathe into it. Should I do it or not? Do it! What’s happening? Curiosity leads me to try to figure it out. I ‘use’ photography sometimes: I play with it. My photographic piece “Hello,is this reality?* has words printed in black and white on 260g/m lustre paper. You see the scene in your mind’s eye, if you’re open to it. It’s hung in our bathroom and I see it most days. It’s a snapshot of a real moment in time, in my life. I ‘take’ photographs. My sister once sent me a photo on whats-app of my Dad sitting on the edge of a hotel bed, staring off into the distance. In my eyes he looked frail and dejected. “Sorry, that probably is a bit sad looking.” she texted immediately afterwards. It made me cry. I saved it and printed it up, knowing I would be drawn back to it. I covered it in tracing paper. I dotted the eyes and joined the dots with lines leading to somewhere outside the photo. I took my version of it. I physically softened the image. Playing with the intensity in a quiet way helps soothe the discomfort. A kind of erasing, an anonymity exists. It helps to sit with it. ‘Cut is out’ is a further playful exploration of discomfort undertaken at our kitchen table. I challenged myself to sit with a child’s book, the title of which contains my namesake, scalpel to hand, ready to dissect and cut ‘it’ out of the book and see where it takes me. The doing and documenting are all part and parcel of the discomfort within & figuring it out. These are all part of my practice.
CV
Fiona O’Connor
Personal Details:
e-mail: fionaohconnor@yahoo.com
Website: www.fionaohconnorworks.com
Instagram: fionaohconnor
fionaohconnor_works
Education:
April – June 2019 Arts and the Community Fetac Level 6 Component Certificate (distinction), Creative Exchanges with Age and Opportunity & IMMA
2015 - present Signed up to Access Arts education program, (provides ongoing art techniques online for working with kids and adults)
Sept 05 – June 06 BA (hons) Fine Art, Institute of Art Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire (distinction)
Sept '02 – June '05 BA (Ordinary) Photogarphy, IADT Certificate in Photography, IADT
Related work
Since 2012 I have set up and run successfully my own business 'Coolgarrow Kids' – a creative space for
kids aged 5 – 12years. Google Coolgarrow Kids and it will bring you to the facebook page. It is a business
that has grown in conjunction with my kids in an outbuilding at our home in Coolgarrow. At present
Coolgarrow Kids is on hold as I pursue personal work
Awards:
Cowhouse Residency, Rathnure, Enniscorthy. Awarded by Creative Places Enniscorthy. August 2024
'Rex Roberts Medal' awarded by the Irish Professional Photography Association,
Fuji Student Award - 2nd place in the Student Awards category 2003
Exhibitions
2021 ‘Games for artists and non-artists, HANDS’, curated by Brendan Fox, online exhibition, 31st March
2021 Pluid.project 2021, Cowshed Gallery, Farmleigh, Dublin, 27th August – 5th Sept 2021
See above related work to explain big gap
2008 'X marks the spot', group exhibition, The Joinery, Stonebatter, Dublin, December2008 Signal Art Centre, Bray. Solo exhibition
2007 Broadstone show – group show
2007 'Without a parachute', Moxie group exhibiton, The back loft, Cathedral buildings, Augustine Street, Dublin (20th Jan - 30th Jan)
2007 'Launch' a group show of 9 graduate students selected from 2006 Graduation show IADT, DIT,
NCAD curated by Paul O'Neill. (An initiative of 'Gallery 4', Burgh Quay, Dublin) The Lab, Dublin, December 2006 - 20th Jan
2006 Tulca, Galway Arts Centre, group show, open submission, November 2006 Artisit? NUIG, Galway, October
2006 Graduate show, IADT, June
2006 'Deep end' Concourse, Dun Laoghaire county council building, January 2005 6x6 exhibition, 411 Gallery, China
2005 'Iontas', small works exhibition, Sligo Arts Centre August – September 2005 IADT Graduation Show, Diploma level, IADT'
2005 Lodz Fotofestival, Poland, May
2004 DLIADT Graduate Show
2003 Fuji Student Photographic Exhibition, The Helix Complex, DCU, May
Bibliography:
'Stars Shine in Student Design. The graduation show now exhibit a high degree of professionalism' by Aidan Dunne, Art Critic, The Irish Times, Monday June 13th 2005. “Fiona O'Connor's wonderful text and photographic sequence 'Making a world of a difference' is a gem.”
'A challenge to the conventional' by Aidan Dunne, Art Critic Irish Times, Wednesday 20th December 2006:
“Fiona O'Connor's elegantly designed video installation ... is beautifully contained and a metaphorically rich piece”