Bernadette Kenny
she/her
Inheritance of Shame
Inheritance of Shame is a multimedia project that examines shame not as an individual experience, but as something inherited, shaped through family histories, gender expectations, and the lasting influence of Irish Catholic culture. Through colour, texture and sound the work explores the relationship between the body, emotion, memory, and domestic space tracing how shame can become embedded across generations.
Working across stitching, fabric, film, and sound I created three interconnected pieces. The first is a short film featuring original music, filmed on my mother’s family farm, a site tied to memory and identity. The second is a hand stitched tapestry created on my own duvet, transforming an intimate domestic object into a surface for emotional vulnerability. The last is a painted image of my mother and myself, printed onto silk, using the delicacy of the material to evoke the fragility of relationships.
Together, they explore the inheritance of shame.
Do I Remind You Of You
Do I Remind You Of You
Do I Remind You Of You
Do I Remind You Of You
A River, film still from short film.
A River, film still from short film.
A River, film still from short film.
A River, film still shot short film.
A River, film still from short film.
A River, film still from short film.
Research
Shaping
Stitching
Behind the scenes, film still.
Behind the scenes, film location.
Behind the scenes, film still.