Déanfaidh an dáimh seo
go gearr aon chorp



these kindred spirits will
shortly form themselves into one body



found in dictionary as an unreferenced literary use
in Fóclóir Gaeilge-Béarla 1977 Ó Dónaill

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shane finan

Collaborating with fungi, sheep, humans, semiconductors, birds.

Assembling things into art including electronics, light, painting, timber and more.

Proud member of Visual Artists Ireland, the representative body for artists in Ireland, and a constant source of support and information.

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Supporter of federated, free and open source software:

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latest news

19th November 2022

launch: Assembly, Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo

A new interactive, immersie installation has been created and installed at the Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo.

The work draws from the history of the Civil War period in Ireland, and explores the fringe and untold stories of those who lived then and today, both human and nonhuman.

Using technologies from that time, and from today, entwined strings of stories are presented as abstract films, prints sensor-based media, autograph books and an ad-hoc network.

The launch featured talks from Dr. El Putnam (artist-philosopher and Assistant Professor of Digital Media at NUI Maynooth), Cllr. Mark Duffy (Cathaoirleach Ballina MD), and Anne Marie FOrbes (acting manager, Jackie Clarke Collection), chaired by Ann Marie McGing (Arts Officer, Mayo County Council).

This is the result of a 6-month residency supported by Mayo Arts Office and Decade of Centenaries funding.

A photograph of an artwork in a dark room showing a large projection on one wall with a colourful image of water running under a bridge

18th November 2022

news feature: New exhibition draws on Ballina’s stories, Western People

A news article covering the launch and exhibition of the new artwork Assembly at the Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo.

11th November 2022

launch: Púca in the Machine, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray

The third and final leg of the exhibition Púca in the Machine launched at the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray on Friday, November 11th 2022.

A photograph of attendees at the launch of the Púca in the Machine exhibition at the Mermaid Arts Centre

5th November 2022

talk: Myth-Ecology and Technology, Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Northern Ireland

A talk about the linked ideas and the research that supported the project Púca in the Machine.

A photograph of an artwork about the Poulaphouca Reservoir by Shane Finan

8th October 2022

exhibition launch: púca in the machine, Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Northern Ireland

The launch of the first in a 2-stage tour of the art-research project that I coordinated in 2022, Púca in the Machine took place on October 8th 2022.

The exhibition will run until November 5th 2022.

A photograph of algae infested water with a single tree branch emerging from the green-blue surface

20th September 2022

new art space: ^, Main Street, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim

In September 2022, a small group of humans (artists, repairers, hackers, breakers, foragers, growers) collectively opened a space in north-west Ireland. This porous territory will host us, at least for a short while. I am one of the co-founders of ^

This is a three storey building for experimental collaboration, creating new work and developing conversations led by ethics of care and contemporary philosophy on the more-than-human.

Gaining space is an act that we consider radical in a time of pandemic and digital space, when territories and boundaries are taking on new meanings. As artists, we have a small group that are dedicated to broadening conversations on what it means to collaborate, including considering what these porous borders at the edge of our bodies might represent.

A panorama image of an empty art space

10th September 2022

panel talk: stories of change, Artlink, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, Ireland

I have been invited to present as part of a panel at the 2022 Stories of Change event at Artlink, taking place on the 24th of September 2022 off-site in Buncrana.

This is one of four events happening around Ireland focussed on positive change through art, farming, and sustainable action.

The Stories of Change logo

10th September 2022

presentation: what will remain, Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland

As part of Culture Night 2022, a presentation and in-person work session about a new installation on collecting.

The work is being built on-site in an ongoing installation that is growing in the space as a collection of historical and contemporary moments.

A photograph of the Mayo Arts and library team with artist Shane Finan for Culture Night 2022

2nd September 2022

Blog post: togetherwork, Wicklow Connect artist panel blog

An article about collaborative practice, and different projects since 2007, with a view to understanding what works in different areas.

The logo of the Wicklow Connect artist blog

28th August 2022

Interview: Western People, Mayo

I was interviewed about my ongoing residency with the Jackie Clarke Collection for the Western People newspaper in August 2022, in advance of presenting new work.

A photograph of artist Shane Finan on his hunkers with a portable scanner and a painting in a studio

1st June 2022

Collaborative discussion: Debugging as Collaborative Practice, AMRO (Art Meets Radical Openness), Linz, Austria

In mid-June 2022, I will co-present a session at AMRO about experimental art practice with collaborative partners. This session will combine experiences from my group Kinship Group 26 with the recent project Swap Space.

Partners from both projects will lead a session challenging what collaboration is, and how it can be used as a process to debug the self.

AMRO is a biennial Festival dedicated to Art, Hacktivism and Open Culture. The 2022 edition is run under the theme 'debug'.

A screencapture of the AMRO 2022 logo from their website.

31st May 2022

Masterclass: Computer Programming for Artists, Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim

A 3-day masterclass in using technology as an artist, with a focus on open source technologies. Spaces limited to six.

Part of Leitrim Sculpture Centre's series of masterclasses for 2022.

An image of an artwork using lights and cables, with text overlaid advertising a masterclass in computer programming for artists at Leitrim Sculpture Centre.

23rd May 2022

Project Residency: Decade of Centenaries, Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo

I have been awarded a 6-month residency working with the community of Ballina and the historical objects that make up the Jackie Clarke Collection.

On this residency I am considering the importance of technology, place, human and nonhuman aspects in collecting and recording histories and futures.

The logo of the Jackie Clarke Collection The logo of Mayo County Council

1st April 2022

Collaborative Research Residency: Swap Space, Reagenz, Graz, Austria

I was invited to be artist in residence on an experimental collaboration with research and artistic partners in Graz and Hotelpupik, Scheifling, Austria for April 2022.

The project is researching and documenting how collaboration occurs when artists work both collectively and individually on a collective concept. This iteration includes research into posthuman philosophy, trace, arrivals and liminal spaces.

It is a pilot for the 3-year project SimulArr at the Graz University for Performing Arts and Music.

The other colaborating partners are Nayarí Castillo (artist, Graz/Venezuela), Franziska Hederer (architectural researcher, Graz), Jackie Karuti (Artist, Nairobi), Alisa Kobzar (research assistanct, Graz/Ukraine), David Pirrò (sound artist, Graz/Italy), Consuelo Mendez (Venezuela) and PI Hanns Holger Rutz (sound artist, Graz/Germany).

A photograph of an old building that has long been a ruin, taken from below looking up at the second storey. A tree is growing from the wall, and the visible window has no glass in it.

17th March 2022

Residency: Artlink, Fort Dunree, Donegal

A new residency that will take place over four seasons, carried out at the equinoxes (March and September) and the solstices (June and December) 2022 before exhibiting research on a new project in March 2023.

The project will evolve over this period and new research will be posted on this site intermittently.

The logo for Artlink Donegal

4th February 2022

Exhibition Website: Púca in the Machine, Blessington, Wicklow

Website and online ticket booking now available for the launch of Púca in the Machine.

The website features information about the project research and the three artists involved.

An invitation with dates and times for the exhibition puca in the machine. The backgrouns is an image of water with algae on it

24th January 2022

Project: Púca in the Machine, Blessington, Wicklow

New artworks in progress and new exhibition soon coming at Blessington Library, Wicklow, Ireland. The project, coordinated by Shane Finan and featuring artworks from Finan, Niamh Fahy and Alannah Robins, will feature a publication and new artworks launching on February 17th.

The collaboration is about the more-than-human, mythological, ecological and technological stories surrounding the flooding of Poulaphuca Reservoir, Wicklow, in the 1930s.

More to follow in the coming weeks.

The logo for the project Púca in the Machine. The typography features two fonts, one a blocky heading that splits into a scrawled handwritten font mid-word after the first two letters on each line. The logo is the project title with a photograph of roots superimposed on the letters.

13th January 2022

Artist Talk: FIELD artists at Museum of English Rural Life, Reading

Artists Shane Finan, Michele Allen and Mark Richard Jones will speak at the Museum of English Rural Life about project FIELD on January 19th 2021, to be recorded and released online. This will be the first time that the three collaborating artists, hampered by the ongoing pandemic, will all meet in person.

Travel to the talk supported by Culture Ireland.

The logo of FIELDS at the Museum of English Rural Life

11th December 2021

Artist Talk: Shane Finan at Assembly House, Newcastle Arts Centre

Shane Finan gives an informal talk at Assembly House, Newcastle Arts Centre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This is part of the ENTWINED exhibition programme by VARC.

Travel to the talk supported by Culture Ireland. Photograph by Colin Davison, Rosella Studios.

A photograph of artist shane finan speaking to two people who are facing away from the camera

9th December 2021

Documentary: Shane Finan Explores the Wildwood

A short documentary about my work with the Kielderhead Wildwood Project is now available online.

Recorded and edited by Alan Fentiman on behalf of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

A photograph of artist shane finan looking through a protective tube that is placed around young trees

latest exhibitions

Assembly

sep 1st 2022-jan 31st 2023 Jackie Clarke Collection, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland

An ongoing art installation influenced by the museum collection that changes weekly until the official launch on November 19th 2022 by Dr. El Putnam.

A photograph of an art installation in the corner of a room, featuring printed material with illegible text, colourful images, and a monitor with an image of an airplane wing

Púca in the Machine leg iii

nov 12th 2022-jan 7th 2023 Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

The third leg of the exhibition of research-based artworks from the Poulaphuca Reservoir. More information at this link.

A poster image of an artwork glowing on a lake edge

Púca in the Machine leg ii

oct 8th-nov 5th 2022 Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Co. Derry, Northern Ireland, UK

The second leg of the exhibition of research-based artworks from the Poulaphuca Reservoir

A gallery view of an exhibition with a blurred person walking through the space

Swap Space Graz

april 28th-29th 2022 Reagenz Ost, Graz, Austria

Presentation of research artworks from one-month residency in Graz, combining research and collaborations from the Swap Space team into an interactive artwork about the nonhuman and human traces that are created when we move into and through a place.

An abstract photograph of an artwork that shows a projection onto an uneven brown surface. The projection looks like microscopic images of roots or some other vague sinewy form, with bright white background areas and darker root- or thread-like forms.

Púca in the Machine

february 17th-march 5th 2022 Blessington Library, Blessington, Wicklow, Ireland

Exhibition of artistic research and works in progress from a new project about the more-than-human at a flooded valley and reservoir, Poulaphuca, in west Wicklow, Ireland.

A photograph of a sculptural artwork at Poulaphuca Reservoir. The artwork is a sculpture of a tree-stump with roots spreading out in many directions. The roots are made of fibre-optic cables, which glow in the light. The stump is taped together with heavy-duty tape. In the background is a lake view at dusk.

Supported by:

ENTWINED

december 1st-14th 2021 Assembly House, Newcastle Arts Centre, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK

Two artworks are showing at the second leg of ENTWINED as the exhibition tours to a Newcastle venue.

a photograph of an the outside of assembly house in newcastle with the ENTWINED logo and the names of the exhibiting artists shown on a vinyl in the window

Supported by:

Reboot Me Softly, 19th annual Piksel Festival for Electronic Art and Free Technologies

november 18th 2021 - november 21st 2021 Piksel 21, Bergen, Norway

Two interactive artworks have been selected to be part of the 2021 exhibition programme for Piksel, an international network and annual event for electronic art and technological freedom.

The works are part of the broader programme of events. Two artworks exhibiting are Macalla (2021) from the The Wood Wide Web and It seemed like we were moving closer together from the 2021 solo exhibition Detached Touch.

the logo of the piksel festival in 2021

FIELDS

october 1st 2021 - january 31st 2022 Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), Reading, England

Drawings and stories included in work on show at the Museum of English Rural Life. Three artists are exhibiting, including Michele Allen and Mark Richard Jones.

Other work on show includes academic writing, fieldwork and other public engagement pieces from the 6-university interdisciplinary research project FIELD.

Photograph courtesy FIELD project

an image of some newspapers and prints on a table-top in a busy museum space

17th Athens Digital Arts Festival

september 20th - october 31st 2021 tāctus, Historic Center of Athens, Greece

The film Because the Exchange is Complete will screen at the 17th Athens Digital Arts Festival 2021 edition, which is a blended online and in-person event.

a video still of the title of the film Because The Exchange Is Complete, in pink text on a black background

FIELDS Farming on Film

september 28th, october 21st and november 18th 2021 FIELDS, various locations, England

The film Because the Exchange is Complete will screen at the Hexham Forum Cinema, Hexham (28 Sept), the Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle (21 Oct) and Everyman Cinema, Lincoln (18 Nov) as part of the FIELDS public outreach programme of FIELD, following a 6-month research residency.

a video still of a sheep face looking at the camera, inside a blue triangle that fits around the head neatly

ENTWINED

september 4th-13th 2021 Visual Arts in Rural Communities (VARC), Highgreen, Northumberland, UK

The two year, multi-partner ENTWINED:Rural.Land.Lives.Art. programme exhibits works by six resident artists curated by Cynthia Morisson Bell (artcircuit)

a photograph of an interactive artwork. The artwork is in the form of a large box, like a table. This photograph shows a long exposure of people moving lights, so light trails are visible in the image. the trails are coming from white tubes held by participants/audience

detached touch

august 13th-september 4th 2021 Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Ireland

Solo exhibition presenting three new interactive and technology-led installations about technology, contact, and more-than-human connections

a photograph of four people standing in front of a large 6-screen video artwork in the shape of a hexagon

FIELDS Markets

august 8th - october 16th 2021 FIELDS, various locations, England

Works about animal and human connections involving lameness and vulnerability presented as part of the public engagement programme of FIELD, following a 6-month research residency.

Sunday 8 August: Nuns Moor Park Bike Garden mini-market
Nuns Moor Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5NU
10am - 2pm

Saturday 28 August: Louth Market
Cornmarket, Louth, LN11 9PD
9am - 4pm

Saturday 11 September: Beverley Market
Market Pl, Beverley, HU17 8EA
8am - 4pm

Saturday 25 September: Hexham Farmers Market
Market Pl, Hexham, NE46 1XQ
9am - 1pm

Saturday 16 October: Grainger Market
Grainger St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5QQ
9am - 4pm

a photograph of three people at a market stall with giant cutouts of cows and sheep, and some flyers and photographic material on a table

open studio

april 26th 2021 VARC, Highgreen, Northumberland UK

VARC artists in residence Catriona Gallagher and Shane Finan showing work from the adventurous three-year programme ENTWINED. Rural. Land. Lives. Art. Shane will stage a new interactive performative installation.

a photograph of an interactive artwork. The artwork is in the form of a large box, like a table. This close-up shot only shows some of the left side and the top of the box, and also an opening into the underneath/inside where the side facing us should be. The left side is an abstract painting with mostly dark colours. The top has two tubes placed in it. The underneath shows a series of bluish pipes of light that seem to emanate from the tubes above.