Majella Dowdican’s work focuses on the notion of potentiality. Potentiality both in terms of the materials used, and also, in the sense of the anticipation that the artist creates using such materials. The work is simple yet absurd. The familiar objects and imagery that Dowdican employs entice viewers into her ‘world’, however, this familiarity offers no repose as it soon becomes apparent that this is a world gone slightly askew. The viewer is constantly confronted by the fabrication of the work, whether constructed or deconstructed, making the artists presence obvious, and in turn highlighting the artist-audience roles. The interventions that Dowdican creates are suggestions of what might be beyond, how things may culminate. However, this sense of potential is often marred by the self-reflexive nature of the work, lending an unsettling quality to it. Majella Dowdican (b.1987) is a recent graduate from G.M.I.T, Galway (2010). Since graduating she has completed the Galway Arts Centre ‘Mentored Residency Award’ and most recently has participated in a residency in the ‘School of Visual Art’, New York.
