Sonia O’Dwyer

We Look to the Mercury

My current work consists of a series of small-scale mixed-media sculptural collages. Illuminated selenite rods are incorporated into the works as conductors of light and for their perceived balancing elemental qualities.

Influenced by Constructivism and Bauhaus imagery, the collages draw on architectural forms and family archival photographs to represent the manifestation of ideas or concepts that may, or may not, become fully realised entities. Intersecting lines fragment while simultaneously striving to connect.

These works are accompanied by a moving-image piece in which my father’s Jaguar Mark 2 and family home appear as symbols of hope and idealism — visions of a future that did not materialise as imagined. The work examines the shattering effects of suicide, splintered memory, and the attempt to understand the impact and measure of grief.

*Fragments I - VII*

Fragments I - VII

*Fragment I - Ballywilliam 9*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, selenite rod, LED, 40 x 18 x 10 cm.

Fragment I - Ballywilliam 9, balsa, wire, collage, pen, selenite rod, LED, 40 x 18 x 10 cm.

*Fragment II - Possibilities*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 28 x 12 x 10 cm.

Fragment II - Possibilities, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 28 x 12 x 10 cm.

*Fragment III - Velocity*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 37 x 18 x 10 cm.

Fragment III - Velocity, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 37 x 18 x 10 cm.

*Fragment IV - Transection*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, selenite rod, LED, 32 x 12 x 10 cm.

Fragment IV - Transection, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, selenite rod, LED, 32 x 12 x 10 cm.

*Fragment V - It All Circles Back*, balsa, wire, collage, selenite rod, LED, 37 x 20 x 6 cm.

Fragment V - It All Circles Back, balsa, wire, collage, selenite rod, LED, 37 x 20 x 6 cm.

*Fragment VI - I Remember You*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, selenite rod , LED, 42 x 12 x 10 cm.

Fragment VI - I Remember You, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, selenite rod , LED, 42 x 12 x 10 cm.

*Fragment VII - Mark II*, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 28 x 10 x 10 cm.

Fragment VII - Mark II, balsa, wire, collage, pen, ink, emulsion lift, selenite rod, LED, 28 x 10 x 10 cm.

*Another Life*, collage, pen, archival images, A3.

Another Life, collage, pen, archival images, A3.

We Look To The Mercury.

Research

Process research.

Process research.

Process research.

Process research.