In the Stillness of Time

It was during my formative wellie-wearing years growing up on a farm in Co.Tryone N. Ireland, that I developed my love of wildlife, the farming landscape and getting my feet wet! I discovered early on that being outside was my natural habitat.
My passion for photography grew once I gave up running, exchanging my worn out running shoes for a Canon camera, after discovering it provided a creative outlet for for my artistic aspirations. After joining Mid Ulster camera club, I became Chairman of the club organising events etc. During this time I aso worked as a volunteer Events Photographer for the RSPB (NI) photographing corporate events such as their 'All Ireland Conference', 'Sustainable Planning Awards' ceremony, 'Stepping Up to Nature' campaign launch and numerous other events. During this time I was also a Mentor to a professional photographer under INVESTNI's Go For It programme & have since mentored several other photographers going for photographic distinctions. Gaining an MFA, Master of Fine Art in Photography, from the University of Ulster was a defining moment, and something that has guided and shaped the development of my photographic practice ever since. It was there that I developed an awareness of the concept of liminal spaces & their material signifiers. My MFA thesis examined 'Liminal Spaces in Post-Soviet Places: a case study of Bulgaria' and culminated in an exhibition entitled 'Overshadowed' shown in both Belfast & Dublin An invitation from Spring Fling (a scottishvisual arts iniative) to hold a solo exhibition in Scotland & participate in several group exhibitions followed., My work sold to visitors from as far afield as Australia and Canada. After gaining the Masters, and wanting a new challenge, I joined Catchlight CC, finding success in numerous national & international exhibitions & salons, with portraiture and creative images. I was Secretary of the club for 2 years & have undertaken several committee & non-committee roles since then. With encouragment from many in the club, I have since produced several bodies of work which have resulted in photographic distinctions: a DPAGB from the Photographic Alliance of GB, an Associateship from the Irish Photographic Federation, and more recently a Fellowship from the Irish Photographic Federation. I have been invited to exhibit my Fellowship panel at the Eddie Chandler FIAP Gallery in Dublin in 2024.

Portfolio In the Stillness of Time
I have always been drawn to liminal places, particularly in the rural landscape. Liminal places are places of transition, between 'what was' and 'what next'. They are often quiet & unassuming, seemingly out of place and no longer warrant a second glance from passers-by. Traditional farm buildings woven into the Canadian landscape have, for me, always held this inherent liminal charm. A sense of their growing impermanence or ‘placelessness’ was evident to me on my trip to Canada during the Covid pandemic. Where once they stood centre stage, now they occupy mostly periheral or marginalised spaces, in a sort of ‘no man’s land’. Often they appear frozen in time. Visible but invisible, valuable but not valued. No longer fit for purpose and too expensive to maintain, many have been abandoned, repurposed, or have lost their sense of place. Many now face an uncertain future, while others await the arrival of the developer’s bulldozer. Where once they represented a sense of resilience, now increasingly they represent nostalgia and vulnerability. The gentle artistic editing of my images emphasises the vulnerability and quiet solitude of these traditional farm buildings. This panel is my way of preserving the ‘what was’ before the transiton to the ‘what next’.