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Artist Profile - Mary Fitzpatrick

Mary Fitzpatrick is a contemporary Fine Artist who works with photography, video and painting, mainly on long term art projects in Belfast and the Middle East.

Mary has exhibited in Ireland, England, throughout Europe and the USA. Her art projects have included themes such as the peace process in Ireland and the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

She studied Fine Art at the University of Ulster, Belfast, on the MFA programme, taught at that time by - amongst others - Susan Hiller and performance artist Alastair McLennan.

Originally a painter, Mary exhibited in London, and then after moving to Northern Ireland made large-scale photographic sculptures based on a two year art documentary of events within the Irish peace process before the ceasefire.

She is now mainly known for her large-scale atmospheric installations incorporating images from places left abandoned after conflict. Examples of this were exhibited in a black and white photographic installation at the Blade Factory during the Liverpool Arts Biennial 2004, as part of the much talked about 'Streets of Desire' exhibition curated by Jump Ship Rat.

The work provoked a lot of comment and interest. The pictures gave hints of stories and presences. Her last major body of work was the Failaka project in Kuwait.

She is currently working on a project in the West Bank, having recently returned from an art residency programme at the Al Qattan Foundation in Ramallah.

Mary has built up a substantial body of work over time that exists in the dualistic sense as both personal art statement and important historical archive on the times we live in.

Website: maryfitzpatrick.co.uk