Participatory Workshop

Temple Bar Gallery+ Studios 2024

In collaboration with visual artist Eimear Murphy.

This sculptural play workshop entails cosy group chats and creating comfortable positions for our bodies. Together we explored how our bodies like to be positioned to create active engagement using piles of cushions, foam and seating. This has informed the creation of sculptural furnishings for different types of bodies in order to support intimate engagement with interactive artworks (small marble sculpture in image for example) as part of the large scale participatory installation "Resonances Ripples". Participants unique bodies inform the sculptures and pace of the workshop. Each response sculpture is named after the participant who created the positioning.

We discussed how bodies feel excluded from exhibition spaces and how my exhibition installation could create a feeling that you can truly take your time and feel safe to intimately engage in the haptic experience of the work.

The sculptures intention is to create bodily autonmy and self determination for participants who often feel 'othered' in public spheres. The sculptures themselves act as devices to create a1synchronous community across time.

The workshop focused on accessibility for participants both as a group and individually. It was masked to support collective care and harm reduction, snacks and drinks provided, low lighting and sound, seperate quiet space, an outdoor area, stim toys, closed captioning available and lift.