Ailbhe Mc Gowran’s work explores mundane chores and activities, stereotypes and gendered actions through wearable sculptures intended for activation through performance.

An imagined workforce of antihero personas challenges the audiences preconceived notions of the monotonous, creating unusual protective gear enabling them to execute the specific task at hand. 

This wearable art is activated with durational performance: through repetitive actions, the artist creates a moment of timelessness, bringing the procedure into the eternal while allowing for the chaotic unforeseen.  

 

These pieces reflect on the banality of daily life, focussing on tasks, items and accessories of domestic work in order to highlight their importance in their own right. Humour is introduced into those mundane activities and automatic processes rooted in stereotype as they are flipped, twisted, and presented with the occasional addition of pseudo sexual connotations. 

 

Intending to empower to the wearer through costume, the piece creates a protective layer between the performer and the outside world, a sense of invincibility during the performed action. 

The numeration of these essential survival kits (6) channels the anxieties of daily living, a warning that something needs to be done at home. 

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ailbhemcgowran@gmail.com