Caitriona Dunnett is an Irish artist based in the UK. Her practice is influenced by the land and its stories. She explores the heritage of the layered landscape and in cases intertwines it with personal narratives.
A beautiful walk etched into the Kerry coastline stirred an interest to research and photograph Mass Paths in the Irish landscape, to tell the story of the thousands of people who risked all to attend secret mass during penal times. A Well Trodden Path continues this work, a partnership project with Dr Hilary Bishop that explores the remnants of mass paths in Galway. Parishioner Monica Holland remembers walking the paths barefoot, her shoes tied together over her shoulder. She wiped them clean before putting on her socks and shoes for mass.
Hill Close Gardens, local to Dunnett, is one of the last groups of detached Victorian pleasure gardens. She has been drawn to the gardens’ sense of peace and its archive of past tenants and owners including a photograph of an unknown young man in his Sunday best posing by a summerhouse, Mary Hooper reclining in the morning sun reading her newspaper and Mrs. Savage proudly standing by her prize lily. Working with her mother’s recollections, family photos and her own memories, Dunnett attempted to recreate her grandfather’s garden on the banks of Loch Long. The Lost Garden, recalls the sweet sharpness of the mint that grew in the back and the heady scent of roses on a warm summer evening.
Dunnett has been using contemporary techniques, converting digital files into contact negatives to create handcrafted prints. Mostly working with the cyanotype, an early non-toxic photographic technique introduced by John Hershel, she tones her Prussian blue prints. Hill Close Gardens was toned with pomegranate, A Well Trodden Path with a leading brand of Irish tea, a favourite of many who walked the paths and Mass Paths was toned with a popular 19th century English tea that was once used to dye a Royal Christening gown.
Experimenting is central to Dunnett’s practice, as is finding the appropriate technique to convey her stories, working with camera-less photographic techniques, such as the lumen process to record the interaction between plants, surface and light. Strawberry Leaves was created by placing the plant directly on top of photographic paper, though unfixed the print will fade. Dunnett’s practice explores memory. She is intrigued by the traces people leave behind, the paths they weave through time and the legacies attached to them.
Exhibitions
Solo
2022
Hill Close Gardens, Hill Close Gardens, Warwick
The Lost Garden, Birmingham Darkroom, Birmingham
2019
Spotlight, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, Leamington Spa
2018
Mass Paths, Custom House Studios and Gallery, Mayo
Group
2022
Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Halftone Print Fair, the Library Project, Dublin
West Midlands Open, The New Art Gallery Walsall
Flourish Award, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Northern Print, Newcastle upon Tyne & The Point Gallery, South Yorkshire
2021
Halftone Print Fair, the Library Project, Dublin
Photography Prize Exhibition, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham
2019
RuaRed Winter Open, Dublin
Open, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby
Coventry Biennial, Coventry
ESPY Photography Award, Elysium Gallery, Swansea
Warwickshire Open Studios, Leamington Spa
2018
Winter Exhibition, Custom House Studios and Gallery, Mayo
Coventry Open, Herbert Gallery & Museum, Coventry
Bainbridge Open, London
2017
New Irish Works, Plural 17, Inter Center of Photo & Cinema, Madrid
Impressions Biennial, GMIT Centre for Creative Arts and Media, Galway
Mass Paths, New Irish Works, PhotoIreland, the Library Project, Dublin
2016
Nottingham Castle Open, Nottingham
Chasing Shadows, The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
The London Group Open, The Cello Factory, London
Open, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, Leamington Spa
Chasing Shadows, Dimbola Museum and Galleries, Isle of Wight
Warwickshire Open Studios, Warwick
2014
National Original Print Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London
Print Biennial 2014, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham
The Walking Encyclopaedia, AirSpace Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
2013
Pushing Print, Margate Gallery, Margate
Ludlow Open, The Harley Centre, Ludlow
And the Lads too…, Irish Cultural Centre, London
2012
Between the Lines, Drawing Project, Dublin
Female Irish Artists, 5 Years Gallery, London
Chasing Shadows, The Profile Gallery, Saltburn by Sea
2011
Creekside Open, selected by Dexter Dalwood, APT Gallery, London
2010
At Play, South Hill Park, Bracknell
2009
Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Unique Perspectives, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham
Lost in Transit, Impressions Gallery, Bradford
Festivals
2022
Work Show Grow, SOLAR Foto Festival, Brazil
Press + Play, Phoenix Art Space Festival of Print, Brighton
rivers, signals, miracles, Collective 22, Collective Hubs, Brighton Photo Fringe
Images Are All We Have, The Printworks, Dublin, PhotoIreland Festival
Exhibition in Bloom, Shoot Festival, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
22, Unit 7 Royal Hotel Buildings, Victoria Street, Derby, Format Festival
2018
FOTOLIMO Festival, Salle Walter Benjamin, Portbou, Spain
2016
New Irish Works, PhotoIreland, Centre Culturel Irlandais, ParisPhoto
2015
Chasing Shadows, Gallery X, Dublin, PhotoIreland
2014
Photo-Paint, Fringe Arts Bath Festival, Bath
2012
Chasing Shadows, Centre for Creative Practices, Dublin, PhotoIreland
2010
Chasing Shadows, Centre for Creative Practices, Dublin, PhotoIreland
Wild, Wicked and Wanton, Lewisham Arthouse, Lewisham, DeptfordX
2009
Lost in Transit, Vyner Street Gallery, London, London Photomonth
Online
2022
rivers, signals, miracles, Collective 22, Collective Hubs, Brighton Photo Fringe
Analog Forever Group Exhibition - "Connecting to the Divine”
2021
Analog Forever Group Exhibition - "Photography Out of Control”
2020
Cork Artists Showcase, Uillinn Galleries
2017
LensCulture’s Winter Exhibition
Awards
2022
Danny Wilson Memorial Award Professional’s Choice Collective 22
Funded by Art Friends Warwickshire in partnership curator Alice Swatton
Coventry Artspace Bursary
Honourable Mention Julia Margaret Cameron Award’s
15 Frames Bursary, Darkroom Birmingham
Shortlisted Flourish Award
Small Arts Grants, Derby City Council, Collective 22
2021
Third Prize RBSA Photography Exhibition
Shortlisted the Light of Day
Agility Award, Arts Council Ireland
Analogue Photography Grant the Richard and Siobhán Coward Foundation
Runner Up Spectrum Portfolio Award Format
2020
DYCP Award, Arts Council England
Honourable Mention Julia Margaret Cameron Award’s
2019
an Artist Bursary
2018
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant in partnership with Dr Hilary Bishop, Liverpool John Moores University
Shortlisted for the GPF International Photography Competition
2017
Shortlisted for Remote Photography Festival
2016
Selected for PhotoIreland’s New Irish Works project
Shortlisted for the Annex Collection Acquisition Award
Grain Photography Hub Bursary
2015
Grants for the Arts Award, Arts Council England
Shortlisted for the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize
Education
2005
Arts Management Diploma, Birkbeck University of London, London
2002
MFA in Photography, Rhode Island School of Design, USA
1999
BA in Photography (1st Class Hons), Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham
1997
Certificate in Photography, Dun Laoghaire College of Art & Design, Dublin
Professional Development
2022
Experience 2022: An introduction to arts, health and the older person, Age & Opportunity, Uillinn West CorkArt Centre and Waterford Healing Art Trust
Leading Workshops with Tess Radcliffe, Coventry Artspace
2021
East Meets West Master Class with Grain Projects, Format and Quad
2021
PhotoIreland Professional Development Programme
2021
Workshops with Hannah Fletcher Sustainable Darkroom
Commissions
2022
Ancient Connections Holy Wells Visual Arts Commission
Small is Beautiful, Culture @Solihull/Parrabbola
2021
Artist On My Street, Artspace Coventry
Live & Local LivingRoom: Artist Commission
2020
Creative Connections Commission, Creative Black Country
Publications
2021
A Well Trodden Path, published by PhotoIreland
Hill Close Gardens, published by PhotoIreland
2018
Mass Paths, published by PhotoIreland
Residencies
2021
Dereenacappera, Beara Peninsula, Ireland
2016
AA2A at School of Art & Design, Coventry University, Coventry
2008
AA2A at Bedfordshire University, Luton
Other
Member of Collective 22
A new collective formed in 2022 by photographers selected by Grain Projects, Format Festival and Quad for their East Meets West Masterclass programme.
Workshops
PhotoIreland Festival, Hill Close Gardens, Darkroom Birmingham, Living Memory Project, Leamington Spa Museum & Gallery, Coventry University
