Textile artist Helen O’Shea breathes new life into discarded plastic

The ethereal sculptures made by Irish-born artist Helen O’Shea look like a mysterious species. The works – covered in translucent scales or fronds – are born from her research into what happens when plastic disappears deep into our oceans and begins to grow colonies of microorganisms.

‘I was looking at how plastic might survive in the years to come,’ says the Cork-based maker. ‘My sculptures are a fictional cross between plastic and organic life.’ O’Shea beachcombs to find discarded plastic bags or bottles, which she transforms into pearlescent works by cutting them up, then pinning, gluing or stitching them together.

For her work Bi-valve, for example, she bonded together several plastic bottles, then pinned plastic scales laced with red thread to them. The work is being shown at Collect art fair by Ting-Ying Gallery, alongside other pieces including Filament, in which a bottle top is seen emerging from fine plastic fronds. ‘They are beautiful to touch,’ says O’Shea, ‘like running your hands through someone’s newly cropped hair.’

The artist studied at Grennan Mill Craft School in County Kilkenny in her 20s, but it took her over two decades to begin pursuing her own creative practice – first by doing a BA in Contemporary Applied Art at CIT Crawford College of Art and Design, and then an MA there, which she was just finishing at the time of writing.

Her interest in reusing materials was inspired by her 2015 residency in Iceland, where she saw waste fish skins being transformed into leather. Since then, her own acts of metamorphosis have caught the eye of curator Brian Kennedy, who introduced her to London’s Ting-Ying Gallery. ‘It’s rare to come across an artist that has the alchemical ability to transform materials,’ he says. ‘Helen O’Shea is one. She takes waste plastic and turns it into meaningful sculptural objects that are complex and beautiful.’

O’Shea’s work can also be viewed at London’s Soshiro gallery (virus restrictions permitting), where Kennedy has curated a show of work from five galleries, including Ting-Ying, to coincide with Collect.

Collect 2021 is now live on Artsy.net, with works on view and commissions available until 24 March. Over the weeks, we’ve been meeting the makers making their debut at the fair – explore more artist profiles online and follow the action on Instagram at @collectartfair and #collect2021.