Aoife Cawley

Aoife Cawley is a printmaker and textiles artist from Kildare, Ireland.

Cawley’s work is centered around stories from folklore and mythology, as well as figures from hagiographical and historical contexts. Through the mediums of printmaking and textiles, she commemorates these tales and underlines the impact they have on the national identities of Ireland.

This body of work, titled “The Land of Saints and Scholars”, is concerned with the lives of saints from early Christian Ireland. The work focuses on the folklore surrounding these saints and how they have left us with long standing traditions that are still upheld today. The work examines the cultural impact of these figures rather than a religious message. Cawley is aware of the importance of preserving these stories for future generations and uses her practice to revive, reimagine, or highlight their relevance in a contemporary context. She employs a complicated screen printing process, often consisting of up to 25 layers. She uses this to reference medieval illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells, in bright  and bold neon inks.