MTU Arts Office presents the debut solo exhibition by Dee Hurley, MTU CCAD BA Hons Contemporary Applied Art 2024, as part of the annual MTU Registrar’s Prize, selected by MTU Registrar & Vice President for Academic Affairs and supported by MTU Arts Office.

Dee Hurley - Artists statement & Bio

My practice evolved from an intuitive connection to plant forms coupled with a strong zero waste ethos. My degree show Radiant Other explored the use of botanical elements to invoke a gentle appreciation and reconnection with the living environment. By creating art with sustainable plant materials and transforming perceived waste elements into aesthetically engaging art, I offer a new perspective on what we take for granted.

In this show I am expanding on this theme by honouring the unregarded elements of plants. The focus is on the discarded; trimmings, tree roots, the remains of vegetative matter, rescued from the process of decomposition hence the title ReCompose. I create sympathetic configurations of the botanical elements and also produce textile prints. My wish is to imbue a sense of wonder in the viewer through these artistic interventions, with the intention to enrich our experience of the living environment.

Dee completed a first class honours degree in Contemporary Applied Art in MTU Crawford College of Art and Design in 2024. She received many awards for her degree show ‘Radiant Other’, including the MTU Registrars Prize. Since graduating she has exhibited in Emerge, the Cork Craft & Design showcase, the Sample Studios graduate show and in Europe House, Dublin. Her OPW purchase has been chosen for the cross border touring exhibition ‘Connections’.

Dee is currently the artist in residence in the CCAD textiles dept. and intends to further her studies with a Masters by Research on the topic of eco literacy and the creation of sustainable ecocentric art.