Fiona Reilly

b. 1985, Ireland

Fiona Reilly makes art about making art. The primary concern of the work is the process of art-making, with a focus on the liminal stages of this process. Art-making and daily life are viewed as being at once separate and inextricably bound, existing in a constant and necessary tension. Importance is placed on the seemingly incidental and the mundane, with an investigation into the infiltrating influence daily life has on the production of an artwork. In tandem with drawing, video, sound and sculpture, the very fabric of our own environment is employed as a medium within itself.

The pieces in e v+ a are two ongoing projects. They use the act of commuting to map the passing of time. EveryNothing began in June 2009 on a residency in Belmont Mill Artists Studios in Co Offaly. The only method of commuting was by bicycle. A drawing device was created for the bike to document each cycle. The outcome of each drawing depended on the weather, the route cycled, at what speed and for what duration. On finishing the residency and returning to Dublin, each cycle continues to be documented.

Time Spent is a sculptural piece constructed from every bus ticket from each journey made on Dublin Bus since December 2005. The piece continues to grow and will be exhibited once every year until this ticket system becomes obsolete as technology takes over.

(Text: e v+ a – matters catalogue, 2010)