Mary Callaghan

I am a West Cork-based visual artist working across painting, installation, sound, and print. I graduated with First-Class Honours in Visual Art from TU Dublin (Sherkin Island) in 2026. My background in electronic engineering and music also shapes my perspective and approach to making.

My current work responds directly to the rise of artificial intelligence and questions what intelligence might mean beyond human-centred models. By working collaboratively with elemental forces such as wind and rain, I position nature not simply as subject or environment, but as an active co-creator in the work.

My degree show +Headland involved a 2-day extended live painting performance on a coastal headland on Sherkin Island, alongside a filmed performance with a sound score generated from wind data recorded over the course of a month.

Statement

I am a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sound, film, and live performance, deeply inspired by the natural environment. Having recently completed a BA in Visual Art at TU Dublin (Sherkin Island), and drawing on an earlier degree in Electronic Engineering alongside a background in music, a recurring feature of my work is the integration of technology and sound into my artistic exploration.
At a time of rapid technological acceleration and growing concern around the role of artificial intelligence, my work seeks an alternative, non-human-centred understanding of intelligence. I collaborate directly with elemental forces, such as wind, rain, and sunlight, inviting them in as active co-creators in the work I make. By balancing both control and surrender in my artistic approach, I cultivate a slower, more attentive engagement with the natural world.
My degree show, +Headland, unfolded across an exposed coastal site on Sherkin Island, West Cork, through a two-day live painting performance. Working with five large sheets of chiffon, I offered an ink-laden brush to the elements, allowing wind and rain to shape the marks on the fabric. My movements were slow, deliberate, and meditative, encouraging viewers to pause, slow down, and attune themselves to both the creative process and the surrounding environment. A short film accompanied the work, documenting one of these performances and featuring an original musical composition built from a month of recorded wind speed and directional data. The score acts as an extension of my collaboration with the elemental forces, translating raw environmental metrics into sound to give voice to the wind.