Dorothy Cross - Connemara

Dorothy Cross lives and works in Ireland. She works in a variety of media including sculpture, photography, video and installation, examining the relationship between living beings and the natural world. A sense of place pervades her practice. Living in Connemara, a rural area on Ireland’s wild west coast, Cross sees the body and nature as sites of constant change, creation and destruction, new and old.

Many of Cross’ works incorporate items found on the shore, including boats and animal skins, while others reflect on the environment. During the 90s, the artist produced a series of works using cow udders, which drew on the animals’ rich store of symbolic associations across cultures to investigate the construction of sexuality and subjectivity. She has worked on several large-scale public projects, most memorably the award-winning Ghost Ship (1998). In recent years, her practice has focused on nature and the ocean, working with maligned animals such as jellyfish and shark, and exploring rarely accessible areas like sea caves or shell grottos.

This book was made in conjunction with the artist’s show Connemara at Turner Contemporary, Margate, England, in October 2013 and RHA, Dublin in February 2014. Dorothy is represented by Kerlin Gallery, Dublin and Frith Street Gallery, London.

Paperback