Lucy McKenna's work is concerned with information; the active void that the search for it creates, what we fill that void with, and what we may not be seeing. Her practice analyses the behavioural acts of 'seeing' and 'measuring' mysterious forces either via scientific experiment or anecdotal experience. Following from this, her works investigate possibilities of an unseen world lying undiscovered, running in parallel to the known universe. Taking into account theoretical and empirical evidence as well as folklore and superstition, her artworks isolate the data's metaphysical conclusions, resulting in multiple or ambiguous outcomes. Playing with scale, her works can focus on tiny detail, employing many multiples and repetitive patterns, balance, suspension, mirroring and symmetry. Selected materials with inherent values and primary source research are intrinsic to her projectised approach. Her practice is a multidisciplinary one composed of drawing, photography, film and installation.
Lucy McKenna graduated from NCAD in 2005 with a Joint BA in Textiles and History of Art. She has exhibited throughout Ireland and internationally in China, USA, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Germany and France. Lucy has undertaken artist residencies in Ireland, USA, Canada and Iceland. In 2012 she made a visit to CERN Centre for Nuclear Research in Switzerland and collected research for an upcoming project. Recent awards include grants from the Irish Arts Council, Culture Ireland, and Artlinks. Her work is in the collections of Aras An Uachtarain, ASTI, Irish Defence Forces, Kilkenny Arts Office, Tallaght Hospital Dublin, St. Lukes Hospital Dublin and Kilkenny Education Centre.
