Clodagh Emoe

Clodagh Emoe lives and works in Dublin. She studied Fine Art at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin and Chelsea College of Art & Design, London, and completed a PhD with GRADCAM/DIT in 2014. She creates ‘exercises’ – event-based participatory works that take place at specific times and in specific locations to reveal how our connection with one another is intrinsically linked with our connection with the natural world.

Clodagh’s multi-layered projects result in multiple forms and iterations. The focus of her work is not confined to the material form; instead it extends beyond the site of the work to the encounter, perception and our collective experience. For over twenty years she has grappled with our place in the world. Through her practice she has come to realise that this place is not a geographical point; rather, it’s the space where we find meaning. She draws on ritual to explore how meaning is formed through our connection with each other. Her recent body of work seeks to explore ways to deepen our connection with the natural world through three interlinked projects: ‘The Classroom in the Sun’ (2021-22) an inter-generational, collaborative project devised for and developed with the children and community of St. Mary's JNS; ‘Seed STUDIO’ (2022-ongoing), initially piloted in IMMA and incorporating cross-pollinating activities; and ‘Reflections on a Radical Plot’ (2021-22), an ecological archive of “weeds”.

Clodagh Emoe applied for a Golden Fleece Award to invest in studio time, site visits, materials and other costs relating to an ambitious new project that will reveal the power and potency of nature to city dwellers through a series of artworks consisting of strange, mysterious prints of plants and a supporting public event that connects people to place.