Sophie Hanna Hayes
**>MOVE ON.** is an investigation into grief in a digital age. The artworks are a continuation of ideas regarding re-connecting with the natural world and the act of birdwatching as a counter to internet doomscrolling. With the constant stream of content that is consumed every day, it is easy for death to become just another image on a screen. This generation have watched people die online in a space where an algorithm refuses to allow any time to grieve, instead encouraging one to simple move on, and consume more. Through bookmaking, etching, and imagery of dead birds, this collection of work draws on the idea of becoming desensitised to death.
The featured book, **How to Dissect a Sparrow**, ruminates on the concept of the ‘machine’ (the internet) and how the methodical and disconnected act of dissection mimics how clinically we are encouraged to view death online, forced to disconnect from viewing these as real people. This is emphasised also in the hanging, with the books pinned to the wall, similarly to what would be seen when dissecting and preserving a wing.
**And eventually, you’ll be so tired you won’t even notice the bodies beneath your feet**, is a mixed media sculpture depicting a pile of over 200 hand-cut etchings of dead sparrows. The birds sit upon an armature made of recycled copper wiring, with their similarity to a pile of leaves acting as a nod to decay and the reality of death in the natural world. The sparrow is a common garden bird, often overlooked or under appreciated. The piece is not intended to stand out, instead encouraging the audience to come to realisation themselves that up close, these are dead birds. Through the time-consuming process of etching, aquatinting, printing and then individually cutting each sparrow, the creation of this sculpture allowed for a reconnection and acknowledgement of death.
Sophie Hanna Hayes is a Dublin and Westmeath based visual artist and printmaker. She works in a variety of print mediums, textiles and mixed media. She has an interest in the combination of language and imagery, with her work often incorporating the written word. She is interested in bookmaking, words and birds. Hayes has exhibited in **The Place Project**, IMMA Studios (2023), Dublin Art Book Fair, Temple Bar Gallery (2024, 2025), **Better than Ambrosia**, The Orangery Marlay Park (2025), **Sign, Symbol, Word**, Birr Vintage & Arts Festival curated by The Project Twins (2025) and **Down the Road, Around the Corner**, Pallas Projects/Studios (2026).
