Caroline O’Sullivan, Artist in Residence 2004

Ceramicist Caroline O’Sullivan was Artist in Residence with the Waterford Healing Arts Trust in 2004.

Caroline O’Sullivan is a native of County Kerry and a graduate of both the Crawford College of Arts and Design and the Limerick Institute of Technology.

During her residency, Caroline produced a number of ceramic torsos which she presented in an exhibition entitled ‘Concordia Discors’ (Discordant Harmony) in Greyfriars Municipal Gallery in January 2005.

The exhibition highlighted her interest in the dualism of at once having and being a body. She states, “What does it mean to both have a body, and be our body? How is this dualism processed by society as a whole? Our bodies share basic characteristics, common to every other body, on the planet, yet our experience of corporeality is entirely individual, and some would argue, culturally contingent. Viewing the body as more than just a biological entity, my work attempts to explore the issues that arise around body boundary and body image when placed amidst illness and hospital treatment.”

During her residency, Caroline also facilitated a programme of ceramic workshops for WRH staff, worked with the Friends of Waterford Regional Hospital tapestry group on the design of a tapestry depicting contemporary Waterford and enabled stroke patients in the ward for older people to make art.