Sharon Kelly’s practice mediates between memory, experience and imagination, working across 2 and 3D processes, including drawing, painting, print, sculpture and installation. Her work is concerned with the body; with marking and mapping the physical and psychological, exploring themes of fragility, resilience, liminality and transformation. Inspirations come from diverse sources such as anatomy, medicine, dressmaking and sport.

In this new body of work, present at Golden Thread Gallery,Kelly reflects on what remains hidden or unnoticed and how such absences shape our sense of identity and connection to the world around us. Through the use of worn clothing, vintage sewing patterns, and other delicate materials, Kelly delves into the emotional complexities of concealment and burden, uncovering traces of past lives and contemplating what is missing or left unfulfilled. Pockets become quiet repositories, holding secrets, forgotten memories, or unseen places, offering a space where the precious and the heavy coexist. In this excavation of personal history, Kelly explores themes of intimacy, emotional weight, and inherited burden, particularly through the lens of female experience.

Bio:
In 2023 she was awarded the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Major Individual Award, in recognition of her contribution to the arts. Recent work has been supported by The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, USA, 2022 and in 2023 she completed a fellowship at the British School at Rome, Italy.