Maria's Exhibition - January 2006

On Monday, 16th January 2006, ‘Maria’s exhibition’, an exhibition of art by Maria Casey produced during her residency with the Waterford Healing Arts Trust was launched by Patricia Sullivan, General Manager of Waterford Regional Hospital in Greyfriars Municipal Gallery, Waterford. Maria has been artist-in-residence with the Trust, working from a studio in the premises of the Waterford Healing Arts Trust and interacting with the hospital community, since August 2005.

Sligo born artist, Maria worked as a horticulturalist prior to returning to education as a mature student. She graduated with a Degree in Fine Art Sculpture from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2000. Maria’s art practice is based on a response to different contexts and materials and she is therefore drawn to working through artists’ residencies. Since leaving art college, she has participated in a number of residencies and has exhibited in numerous group shows. Her first solo show ‘Strange Beginnings’ took place in the County Hall Kilkenny in 2002.

The work on show is inspired by Maria’s time spent observing the workings of the hospital laundry. ‘I am fascinated by the laundry which washes linen for thirteen hospitals in the South East’, says Maria. ‘I have chosen to use bedsheets, uniforms and pyjamas as a canvas for exploring the hospital experience. I am interested in how clothes define roles within a hospital'.

Patricia Sullivan, General Manager of Waterford Regional Hospital welcomed the exhibition and applauded the innovative work of the Waterford Healing Arts Trust. ‘This exhibition is the fourth exhibition to be hosted by artists in residence with the Healing Arts Trust in the Municipal Gallery and as such, represents a significant partnership between Waterford City Council, the Trust and Waterford Regional Hospital. Though this and other initiatives, we aim to bridge the life of the hospital with the wider community’.