Born in Glasgow in the early nineties, I spent most weekends in Kelvingrove Art Gallery. I remember standing in front of Sir Jospeh Noel Paton’s painting ‘The Fairy Raid’, and being in awe of my Mother telling me he was a distant relative of ours. I was always making things and found art to be a language I naturally understood. When people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always knew I wanted to be an artist.

Frustratingly I had two failed attempts to get into Glasgow School of Art in both 2009 & 2010 however I didn’t let this deter me. After school I took a short break then enrolled in Tramways Portfolio Course to develop ideas for my next application. It was here I found a new love for sculpture and finally by 2017 I graduated from the Sculpture and Environmental Art department with an upper class BA Honors Degree.

Since then, I’ve been drawn towards my celtic island roots and exploring the potential lived experiences of my past relatives. I do this by travelling to the places where they lived, and exploring the natural materials, sounds and space.

Recently I noticed a pattern that has followed me since I first began making things. I have always experienced a deep pull towards carrying out repetitive wrapping motions. I cant explain why, and so I am currently looking into something I am calling ancestral muscle memory. I want to explore practical processes which may have been commonly carried out by people from my past in an attempt to connect with them.

My work is now evolving to find more meaning in the act of doing and experiencing something rather than the making of an object. I am starting to explore performance and video as a potential new medium for these themes.

Contact me

kayleighmcguinnessartist@gmail.com

@kayleighmcguinnessartist