Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Aoife Ruth 

BA [Hons] Art

Aoife Ruth is an Irish artist based in Dublin. Her practice takes the form of drawing, painting and printmaking. She explores techniques of layering her materials, both within her research and through her finished pieces. Recently her work has become more focused on her relationship with her local environment. She has taken part in IADT group shows such as Perceived Dimensions (2018) at IMMA, Making the Intangible Tangible (2019) and Afterthought (2020) in the United Arts Club, and In the making: High Heart (2021) with Pallas Projects.

Project Description

Due to Covid 19 and the restrictions which followed it, I found myself at home again. Over
the past year, I have become aware of my growing connection with my local surroundings.
This project emerged as I began taking frequent walks along a stretch of the Royal canal.
Specifically, along an area known as the Deep Sinking. A sinking is the process in which the
canal was cut. Through this routine of walking I noticed a tension between the landscapes
separated by the canal — with housing estates and industrial parks on one side and farmland
and big areas of green on the other.
Deep Sinking is a series which uses a range of media and material strategies to respond to the
canal and the tensions of the areas surrounding it. The paintings are based on my visits to the
canal, backed up by map-based inquiry and historical research.