About Me

Clare Mc Laughlin Artist Statement

I am a socially engaged visual artist with a B.A. in Visual Art

  • I was always interested in art but only committed to being a professional artist in my 50’s!  All of my life experiences inform my art practice and as they say no experience is a bad experience, there is always a learning element!
  • My art practice explores the non-visual appreciation of art through the use of socially engaged strategies.
  • My inspiration for all of my art projects comes from an initial thought that strikes me, followed by rigorous research resulting in an initial framework for the art project.  This is then continually being improved and expanded each time the art project happens.
  • For example the inspiration for Seen – Unseen resulted from my questioning of the landscape of a visually impaired person particularly in the gallery space.  In such a predominantly visual space I researched how the artworks could become more available to visually impaired people though other sensory experiences together with the stories behind each artwork.
  • Considering that the average time spent by a sighted person in front of any artwork is between 30 to 60 seconds. Seen – Unseen provides an altogether more engaging experience.
  • My ongoing art projects include SÚIL, Bird Feast, Message in a Bottle, Blackberry Jam and Seen-Unseen. 

Seen - Unseen

is an art project which explores the landscape of a visually impaired person (VIP) when accessing Arts & Culture. This art project began in 2014 and has been gaining momentum since then. To date there have been over 100 Seen - Unseen events. Seen - Unseen now provides an in person and online option and is reaching 3 Continents on any one event. There is no charge for visually impaired people to participate in Seen - Unseen and tactile packs are sent to those joining online.

Close up photograph of a bramble branch showing blackberries at different stages of ripeness, black, red and green.

Blackberry Jam Art Project

Blackberry Jam is an art project exploring access, empathy, communication and co-operation. Blackberries are wild and free. Their smell and taste, especially the warming smell of blackberry jam bubbling on the stove bring back many happy childhood memories.

Message in a bottle

This was an art project done during my sailing voyage from Canary Islands to Antigua in the Carribean in 2012/13. 13 bottles containing messages, were thrown overboard at different GPS points on the journey. These were plotted on the sea chart. When the messages are answered the destination GPS points will also be plotted and the journeys of the messages explored.

SÚIL

is a sculptural sensory art project that only takes place on islands . It is a participatory performative art project that culminates in a collaborative sculpture of the walk. It has been described by participants as an 'emotional,' 'arresting', 'meaningful', 'sensory' experience. There have been 6 SÚIL events to date, SÚIL, SÚIL Éile, SÚIL Antigua, SÚIL Harbour to Harbour, SÚIL Lines of Longitude and SÚIL in the Footsteps of our Emigrants Part 1. All have taken place on islands, Sherkin Island, Antigua in the Carribean, Cape Clear Island and Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland, and Cobh .

Image shows framed original Print of The One Legged Crow in white with green tones on a dark green background.

Bird Feast

A dinner party for birds as a thank you for the joy and pleasure that they bring us every day. The inspiration for Bird Feast came from a gift I put together for a friend of mine who was dying and unable to have visitors. I thought if I dropped off some bird feeders to be placed outside her window she might take some comfort and joy from seeing and hearing the birds singing and coming and going. After my friend passed away I created a special dinner party in my garden for the birds as a thank you. The one legged crow was one of my visitors to Bird Feast and he provided me with some amazing images including the one above which is a hand made print.

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Some Art Project Images

Image show participants in the 2021 SÚIL Lines of Longitude sculptural sensory walk on the beach in the harbour of Rathlin Island off the Antrim coast.
SÚIL Lines of Longitude Rathlin Island 2021
Seen - Unseen
Seen - Unseen

SÚIL Harbour to Harbour 2018

From left Michael Doran, Artist Clare Mc Laughlin, Carmen Miller holding collaborative sculpture. Cape Clear Island August 2018

SÚIL Harbour to Harbour in progress

Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork in Ireland was the location for the 4th SÚIL art project. It took place on August 15th 2018 on a 'soft' day!

Seen - Unseen Visit to The Crawford Gallery Cork

Seen - Unseen collaborators exploring the Canova casts at The Crawford Gallery Cork Ireland

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