A virtual cornucopia of art images and multimedia art experiences by visual artists James Hayes & Lorraine Whelan in an online gallery format.

Below are links to the newest artwork available to view in our online art gallery website, highlighting artwork from various exhibitions & commissions, as well as links to our other online art work to the left. These show artwork from artist James Hayes' eclectic approach to sculpture, bronze casting, and installation art. There are also many examples of artist Lorraine Whelan's artwork, featuring paintings, drawings, and many other art works since 1989.

I was born in Toronto, Canada, of Irish immigrant parents, something which has a great influence on both my life and work as I am fascinated with my heritage. In 1988, several years after my university graduation (York University, Toronto), I decided to move to Ireland, where half my family currently live.

For over 20 years, I have tended to create "bodies" of work starting with a large group of emotional, figurative works on paper which comprised my first solo exhibition in Dublin in 1989. The study of dreams played a large part in my earlier work, and many works developed from the use of dream imagery. My next solo exhibition, My Tower of Strength, consisted of a series of paintings and drawings which were physically based on the architecture of stone building ruins (common throughout Ireland), yet, through style and colour, sought to express something more than the "actual".

For some time now, I have become increasingly aware that my work is inspired by changes in my environment and circumstance, and I am happiest with my work when it is challenged by such changes. For instance, my involvement with the Art & Industry Placement Programme in 1995, led to the development of a new way for me to look at art and materials: in this program I became involved with the workers in a sterile, pharmaceutical factory and sought to explore the humanity within this environment. In addition, I personally realised the validity of a temporary approach to artmaking. The resulting exhibition, Hand in Hand, was created on material familiar to the factory workers (enamel on plastic sheeting), the imagery was based directly on the workers, and the exhibition was hung in the staff canteen for the enjoyment of all the staff. While I do not believe this is the only way to work, the entire experience was extremely satisfying and had an important effect on my methods of working and outlook on creation. Immediately following the end of this project, I began working on a double installation, Pastures Green and Dreaming for Dad, an exhibition which consisted of tiny, elegant paintings on hand made paper and large, expressive paintings on domestic net curtains.

Since then, I have worked on other projects in response to a specific brief, site, concept, or combination of these. While I have found that my artistic life functions well when pushed outside the almost monastic studio mould, I do consider myself primarily a painter. In 1997 I began work on sketches and drawings for a series of paintings on canvas based on flowers. Initially, the sketches were made as research for a temporary commission in Dublin, using materials such as acetate and transparent adhesive coloured film. As a temporary body of work, the flowers were to be colourful and stylised, appropriate to the chosen media and site. As paintings on canvas, my concerns were to express a joy and richness appropriate to the subject. The resulting body of work, Blessings, was exhibited in Bray and in Ballyjamesduff in 1999 and 2000 respectively. With the birth of my daughter in 2002 the desire for the expression of joy in my work is paramount. During the first few years of motherhood, I created a series of mixed media works on paper and canvas to celebrate my daughter's life. This work, For Elise, was exhibited in August 2005 at the Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely in a joint exhibition with sculptor James Hayes (my husband and father to Elise).

In May 2009 I began Placement©, an ongoing temporary project, in which I print out images of artwork from my 20+ years oeuvre onto standard mailing labels and then put them in various locations over the course of at least two years. The project allows me freedom to experiment and to take a number of issues into consideration, such as scale, site, context, disposability, and collaboration/participation.

In 2010 I completed the painting series Homebody Child, which explored the themes of motherhood, childhood and domesticity. I have recently begun a new body of work, which I have tentatively entitled "Generations". Using images that are specific to my life and family history, this work further expresses generic/universal themes as I explore issues of Memory and Family and Time.