Cathy Scullion: ‘Continuous Fragmentation’

Balancing delicately from their phantom threads, incongruent pendulums ebb and flow capturing momentum from every gentle disruption. In the stillness, their serene beauty in the dancing light belies their creation.

The labour of Cathy Scullion’s process – sorting, selecting, polishing, cutting, wrapping, stitching – is not the immediate observation one makes of this installation but it’s difficult not to be impressed by the diligence that produces such extensive bodies of exquisitely detailed work. Continuous Fragmentation is the latest work by Scullion originating from the artist’s previous research and which continues to pique her interest. The common thread runs quite literally through Scullion’s work, examining and re-examining individualities and commonalities of humanity, an exploration of what is said, what is unsaid, and by whom.

Continuous Fragmentation culminates in a pared back installation of handcrafted papers of Fibonacci proportions, trailing a path along the gallery wall. Each paper mapped with a precision placed thread, holding taut a carefully chosen diamond fragment. Each, a record, a representation, a reference point; the scale reminiscent of something familiar and yet the reading of each, a unique experience.

The minimalist material selection and contrasting tactile qualities unite the elements and entice us with aesthetic pleasure but, more than this, provide space to observe, really observe. Monochrome thread drawings reside in cohesive harmony with the kinetic fragments that dance in the room and draw the viewer into a hypnotic trance. Tranquility provides a space to ponder, to observe the shadows, defying movement.

Slower… gentler… than the bouncing lights that choose, each their own path, accelerating and rotating without rhythm or symmetry, defying the others. Against a backdrop of shadow planes, reflections and projections, the installation expands to a multi-layered experience, peppered with colour prism interjections and ‘watery’ reflections. Transfixed, we seek out pattern and sameness that remain elusive but still we search.

Attentive to every detail, Scullion devotes copious amounts of time and energy to the planning and re-planning, the making and remaking, fearless in pursuit of the perfect outcome, this work has been no exception. Aside from the obvious reference to Jacques Lacan’s Mirror Theory and Cornelia Parker’s Cold Dark Matter: An Exported View (1991), Scullion incorporates thinking around the physical experience, placing us squarely in the space, confronting the works on a human scale, offering a fragmented reflection of who we are both literally and metaphorically. Different but the same, delicate little objects hanging by a thread in a world that would seek to disrupt and destroy our similarities and connections.

Collectively beautiful, strong, disjointed, imperfect and delicately disconcerting, the installed sculpture is a coming together. Made impressive by their completeness, a sea of small, slim shards, large stiletto blades, blunted trapeziums and half moons nestle comfortably together, the communal strength and allure outperforms the individual. This collaborative beauty holds the pleasure that we seek, the value of difference and the collective contribution, an optimistic crack where the light gets in.

Text by Sinéad O’Neill-Nicholl

Artist Statement

Cathy Scullion is a visual artist based in Belfast. She takes a multi-disciplinary, conceptual approach to her work, exploring ways in which material and process can be used to express human emotion and experience.

Holding factors such as time, process and tactility in high regard, the methods used in the creation and display of her work are quite ritualistic and repetitive, often acting as a form of meditation and self-reflection. 

Cathy has been a member of Vault Artist Studios since 2018.  She holds a First class Honours BA Fine Art from Ulster University, Belfast and a First class Honours MA Art Research Collaboration from IADT, Dublin. She has been awarded residencies with Belfast Print Workshop and Seacourt Print Workshop, received Arts Council and Freelands Foundation funding and has exhibited both nationally and internationally.