Ashley Dalton
Goodbye Honey! is a darkly satirical video by Ashley Dalton that critiques the 1960s stereotype of the “perfect housewife.” Through unsettling visuals and dark humour it follows a woman who poisons her complaining husband, contrasting the clean efficiency of poison with the messiness of violent methods. The video is shown on a screen inside a living room setup, creating a personal and thought-provoking experience that questions traditional gender roles and ideas about home life.
Ashley's project aims to explore and critique the unrealistic ideal of domestic perfection and the restrictive gender roles of the 1960s. It investigates themes of control and power dynamics within intimate relationships, highlighting the hidden rage and emotional complexity beneath the surface of everyday domestic life. The work also seeks to blend beauty with the grotesque, using humour and striking visuals to provoke reflection on these societal expectations.
Through Goodbye Honey!, Ashley created a visually striking and darkly humorous video that challenges traditional domestic roles by blending beauty with unsettling, grotesque imagery. The process deepened her understanding of how visual storytelling can convey complex emotions like hidden anger and frustration beneath everyday life. She discovered that contrasts between neatness and chaos, tenderness and violence, can strengthen emotional impact and encourage viewers to question societal expectations.
Ashley Dalton is an emerging artist based in Wicklow whose multidisciplinary practice explores themes of femininity, ritual and mythology. Working across photography, video, and mixed media, Ashley merges beauty and the grotesque through symbolic imagery, self-portraiture and storytelling. Their work often features a rich palette of flowers, fruit, fake blood and vivid colours, creating cinematic scenes that blur the line between tenderness and unease.
Ashley Dalton’s work has been shown in exhibitions such as ‘The Place Project’ at IMMA Studios (2022), ‘How We See’ (2023) at DIVA, ‘Fractal’ (2024) at Powerscourt Townhouse and ‘Mud Between the Toes’ (2025) at Pallas Projects/Studios.
