Petrina Shortt
1st November to 21st December 2024
Studio Open days are Thursday and Friday

Petrina Shortt's artwork is concerned with exploring the layers of physical and social history of her local coastline on Dunmanus Bay, West Cork. During her residency at Uillinn she aims to focus on the area below the water; a natural Kelp Forest. This was the site of a Sea Urchin Hatchery up until 2017. The work will explore its commercial and natural history, the inter-connectedness between living organisms and this marine landscape. Enquiring into the layers of history of the site, symbiosis in the ecosystem, biodiversity loss and potential for renewal and rewilding she asks us to imagine a fantastical future for this underwater world.

During her residency Petrina Shortt will develop a new body of visual artwork informed by a research residency at Bantry Marine Research Station alongside practice-led observations into a local Kelp Forest. The work will combine scientific research with enquiry-led practice and address the positive effects of her local marine environment on the wider planet, projecting a hopeful long-time future for this forest. This project marks a significant shift in her research and practice, the residency will allow time for her to develop skills, experiment with new media and engage with visitors to the arts centre.

Petrina is concerned with exploring the layers of physical and social history of a small piece of land and coastal topography on Dunmanus Bay, West Cork, informed by the geological history, local stories and the relationship between the sea and rocks. She aims to begin a new body of work focusing on the area below the water; a natural Kelp Forest. The kelp forest was the site of a Sea Urchin Hatchery up until 2017. She will deepen her theoretical knowledge of the kelp forest ecosystem, exploring its history, and the inter-connectedness between living organisms and this underwater landscape. Enquiring into the layers of history of the site, symbiosis in the ecosystem, biodiversity loss and potential for renewal and rewilding. She will use this knowledge to create an immersive artwork that projects a fantastical future for this forest.

Petrina will use the studio as a testing ground for a multi-media immersive experience. Having recently begun recording natural sounds around her local environment, particularly the strange sound of rocks rolling and knocking together in the kelp forest beside her home, she will use these sounds to create multi-layered soundscapes which will connect with her paintings and sculptural work.

Research streams will include a research residency at Bantry Marine Research Station. There she will work with research scientists and experts in seaweed species and habitat. The outcomes of this project include a deepening of her theoretical research and understanding of new materials, gathering information to create an immersive artwork.

Petrina Shortt is a visual artist based in West Cork. Since completing the MA in Art and Process at Crawford College of Art in 2022, she has grown her visual arts practice and exhibited widely.

Her work takes the form of painting, drawing, print and sculpture and explores layers of the physical and social history of a small piece of coastline in West Cork. With a focus on the local as an entry point for addressing larger universal themes; belonging, biodiversity, deep time and future long time.

https://www.instagram.com/petrinashortt_art/
www.petrinashortt.com
Recipient of the 2024 Agility Award in Visual Arts from The Arts Council.

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible