Brian Malone

I am a part-time art student based in Dublin, Ireland. I snore.

Snoring is often dismissed as trivial - something humorous or mildly irritating to those nearby. But it also carries more serious implications affecting health, intimacy and the dynamics of shared space. Recent reports have even framed it within broader contexts, suggesting we may be living through a “snoring epidemic” potentially linked to issues like obesity and climate change.

Despite being a snorer myself, I have a low tolerance for it in others. This contradiction became a starting point for the work, opening up questions around empathy, control and self-awareness. What do we tolerate in our partners, and how do relationships reshape us? How do we confront something that occurs beyond our conscious control?

The project also considers whether snoring is fully understood or if it might hold meanings beyond its current definitions. This offered an opportunity to approach the subject playfully while probing its more complex, ambiguous dimensions.

My main aim was to stop snoring. But, in tandem with that, I also wanted to visualise this process by creating work that is both humorous and reflective, seeking a sense of wonder within the ordinary.

Through a research-led process, I explored ways to reimagine snoring by drawing on and combining elements from my life, consumer wellness products, folklore, occultism and horror movies. Experimenting across different surfaces, materials and media allowed these themes to intersect, producing a body of work that combines the familiar and the strange.