Aingeals

Aingeal is 'angel' in Irish and Scotts Gaelic. I use this term to acknowledge my mother and my grandmother, both skilled in sewing. This body of work links us as three generations of women, presenting our skills while also seeking to unpack the complexities and particularities of being female.

The focus here, is on subverting feminine beauty-standards by abstracting the female body, creating surreal angel-like figures. These Aingeals combine a materiality that can be considered bridal, with associations of virginity and purity, with handmade constructions and yet also sex shop paraphernalia. Glamour and sensuality are combined with an anti-aesthetic and the abject to propose a monstrous multi-faceted beauty. Beauty is complicated then, through associations with the abject or figures that refuse to confirm to aesthetic standards, producing sculptures that are both monster and doll.