Vanessa Daws
“Three Swimmers”
2 plate etching made on a course at Graphic Studios 2021 Paper size 18cm by 25cm approx
“The Water Below”
Etching and Aquatint 2022 Paper size 12m by 17cm
“Beyond Islands”
Skerries, Co Dublin, 2019.
Statement
I’m a visual artist and long distance swimmer. My art practice explores place through swimming. Swimming as part of the research, process and live event. ‘Place’ being the watery space that is navigated and swam through and the social space created by this shared activity.
Swimming, journey, encounter, conversation and my first hand swimming experiences are the starting points for my projects. This process I have been describing as ‘Psychoswimography’ the word ‘swim’ added to Psychogeography shifting the meaning from a terrestrial drifting to a watery drifting and re-imagining of place.
I create large scale live art events usually in or next to the particular body of water being explored. These events are transient, so I make books with text and drawings from the research of the projects. These books are the size of the Dublin tide timetable books and serve as a tangible afterglow for the projects. I also paint, make sculptures, film, animation and audio works. Drawing has always been a part of my art practice, print making is a new direction for me to take my drawings in.
Biography
Upcoming Projects:
2021 – 2023 “Swimming a Long Way Together” a series of live art events in Ireland, the UK and France including a solo exhibition at Fabrica Gallery, Brighton, UK 2022 and The LAB, Dublin 2023.
Currently I’m on residency at The Fire Station Artists’ Studios, Dublin 2018 – 2021