Iseult Ní Lubhaing
she/her
When Will I Go Home?
The Murúch (Irish mermaid) was captured by a man who stole her cochall (magic cap). The man hides her cochall, leading her to marry him and bear his children. One day, she finds her cochall, leaving her land family forever to return to her watery home.
Iseult is a native of West Kerry but has been living in Dublin for nine years. Through vlog-style videos, she embodies the Murúch’s dilemma of leaving one home and family for another. In this retelling of the original folk story, she takes matters into her own hands and makes a seaweed-leather cochall for every year she’s spent away from home, searching for the perfect cap to finally leave with.
This installation presents a domestic scene where she has taken over her husband’s kitchen with piles of cochalls made from seaweed leathers and threads, mixing up home with “home-home”, and people with place.
When Will I Go Home, 9 seaweed leather and alginate thread cochalls on cast iron hooks, iPad with moving image, You & Me framed photo collage, thrifted wedding sign, seaweed leather upholstered 60s vintage chairs, Iseult the humans kitchen table with the Murúchs belongings and dinner.
Hooded style cochall, seaweed leather, alginate thread.
Seaweed leather upholstered vintage 60s chairs, table, oil cloth, seaweed leather, trinkets, china, cutlery, periwinkles, sewing needles, dillisk, 'Banshee' book, lavalier mic, Fishermans Friends.
Cap style cochall, seaweed leather, alginate thread, gold leaf, seashells from tráigh Bhaile Challadh.
Table and chairs overhead view.
The Kerrywoman newsletter for audience to take, 21 x 29 cm.
You & Me framed photo collage detail.
Cochal View, seaweed leather, alginate thread.
Murúchs dinner for her husband, periwinkles and dillisk from tráigh Bhaile Challadh.
Installation view, When Will I Go Home?, NCAD Works 2026.
Research
Cochall photo shoot on tráigh Bhaile Challadh.
Cochall photo shoot.
Seaweed leather experiment (agar-agar and dúlamán).
Studio wall.
Seaweed leather experiments.