North Kilkenny boglands feature in exhibition by local artist

“Deep into the psyche of the land, Mo Anam Cara” presents a major new body of work by Irish visual artist Mary Doyle Burke, whose practice moves between painting, biomaterials, sculptural installations, spoken word and digital media.

The solo exhibition, which is based on the boglands of North Kilkenny and North Tipperary is currently showing at the Source Arts Centre in Thurles and runs until Saturday, March 7.

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Rooted in the liminal terrains of Irish moors, bogs, wetlands, and shorelines, her work approaches these landscapes as anam cara, a soul friend that offer memory, guidance, and a deep, steadying companionship. These hinter lands become collaborators in her process, shaping how she listens, gathers, and translates the quiet knowledge held in place.

Working with oil and acrylic on newly developed organic bioplastic substrates, alongside natural sculptural materials, Doyle Burke expands her investigation into negative space, intergenerational memory, and the cyclical rhythms that bind human and ecological experience.

This exhibition marks the final stage of Doyle Burke’s three year Irish Bog and Wetlands Project, funded through an Agility Award from The Arts Council of Ireland in 2023. This funding was to research organically created materials, dyes, pigments and biomaterials to crossover with traditional materials to create artworks using the bog, wetlands, hinterlands as inspiration and a layered metaphor.

Developed through sustained engagement with wetland ecologies, field research, and material experimentation, the project culminates here in a constellation of interconnected layers works.

Curated by PJ O’Connell, a long standing figure in the Irish visual arts community, the exhibition situates Doyle Burke’s material innovations within contemporary conversations about sustainability, place based practice, and public engagement.

Mary Doyle Burke is a professional visual srtist alongside working as Curator at An Chead Tine Art Gallery and Director/Studio Manager at An Chead Tine Studios in Kilkenny.