Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Mollie McCullough 

BA [Hons] Art

Mollie McCullough considers physicality in her art-making to be hugely important. She is very interested in how her body reacts and experiences the world around her and this relationship is the basis for her work. Her love of the ocean and the outdoors is central to her practice. She uses her entire body to immerse herself in her process and believes that by doing so she communicates a physicality that is vital in understanding the natural elements. She has exhibited in IADT group shows such as Perceived Dimensions (IMMA, 2018) and High Heart (Pallas Projects/Studios, 2021).

Project Description

My work is not performance art, but my bodily presence plays an important role in my practice. This project developed from my love of the ocean and, more importantly, my bodily experience of being in the sea. My work resembles a visual diary. I seek to communicate the push and pull of the ocean, its roughness and serenity, by documenting the same swim to a buoy, on different days. I revisit these experiences through memory and also make notes that record the conditions, the elements and my own swimming stroke. I focus on my physical experience of my body, the weather, and the changing nature of the ocean. Working on large sheets of paper with graphite powder, I then visually articulate these experiences using my entire body. My work is ephemeral, intended to be left where it was created, along with the evidence of its making.