A visual commentary on the system of male mental health and the factors surrounding the issue. The drawer is an archival structure that represents the system which contains a system that is not functioning.
317 transparent envelopes for 317 male lives lost by suicide in 2019. The envelopes represent the fragility of mental health and how they often enclose private and confidential information that is not initially seen by others. Exploring the protection of information through materiality of an envelope and assorting them into a filing system.
The commonly used Irish phrase ‘ah sure he’ll be grand’ and it’s dismissive nature is incorporated subtly as a lining of the drawers to furthermore show the suppressive instigation of mental health. Two of the drawers are extracted from the structure and suspended from the ceiling to reflect the weightlessness of the issue.
Holly Kirby is currently completing her Professional Masters of Education at NCAD, shortly after graduating from her Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Fine Art in 2019. Specialising in Sculpture, her practice has now merged both visual art and education together. After years of experience teaching a variety of groups of people Arts and Crafts, she is currently employed at NCAD as a Special Needs Learning mentor.
Melissa Tyndall is an artist & educator from Dublin, based in Wexford. In 2016, Tyndall graduated from NCAD with a BA(HONS) in Textiles Art & Artefact.
Working with a variety of mediums ranging from drawing, painting and found materials. She is currently completing a Professional Master of Education in NCAD, her work displays an exploration of materials which are enclosed with irreplaceable memories.
Nicole Byrne is an artist and educator based in Dublin, Ireland and is currently completing a Professional Masters of Education at NCAD. In 2017 Nicole graduated from NCAD with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fine Art Printmaking. Nicole then got her qualification in Special Educational Needs in 2018.
Timothy Gerard is a Visual Artist, Designer & Educator originating from South-West Donegal. Graduating from The Centre for Creative Arts and Media in 2015 with a Bachelors (Honours) in Design in Textiles, he interned with Milliner Mark T Burke in designing Luxury Women’s hats at his Studio in Fitzwilliam Street Upper. He then went on to work in London prior to commencing the PME in NCAD. Each of Timothy’s collections follows a narrative intrinsic to his artistic process through specific moments in time.