Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Ellen Wise 

BA [Hons] Art

Ellen Wise is a visual artist from Essex, United Kingdom. She deals with intrusive thoughts and sound, focusing on the horror element of the everyday experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She uses mediums such as film and audio to creatively explore the ‘fight or flight’ mind-set that occurs with OCD. Her work often focuses on habitual actions and movements. Ellen also uses photography in her research to document small details of texture and investigate the particular importance of texture in rituals such as handwashing. Ellen exhibited in the IADT student show In the Making: Bread, (Pallas Projects, 2023).

Project Description

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is central to my work. I explore how everyday objects and scenarios can become imbued with a sense of foreboding. Sound is the guide to intrusive thoughts throughout my work. I use sound as the driving factor to create a feeling of anxiety, whilst my visuals may not present anything very obviously threatening. There is a suggestion of underlying worry in my work, which stems from an obsessive necessity to stay safe. My latest work focuses on intrusive thoughts and the belief system can lie behind these thoughts. One of my videos features an origami fortune teller, and it explores how even very generalised statements can cause worry, because most people can find them relatable to their life situation and how they feel. The ‘answers’ on the fortune teller can be unnerving for many people, and can potentially trigger intrusive thinking



Thesis - Is the Sonic Neglected Within Contemporary Art?

The subject of sound within contemporary art is discussed within this thesis to understand the lack of conversation revolving around the sonic in art. It is to ask the question of if sound art is a generally undervalued art practice by artists and if this affects the audience’s views on sound art.