Kayleigh Sarah McGuinness
As a visual artist, I work across Scotland on themes of women’s heritage. I create minimalist sculptures using flax, limestone and steel which celebrate the resilience, intelligence and skills of women across Scotland historically. I intentionally make minimal work to reflect on the shocking lack of information on women’s lived experiences. I am also a passionate community artist and have founded my own children’s organisation called Creative Hangouts.
neo-chrìochnach (meaning infinite, non-finite, unlimited, endless)
My work is a visual and audio response to the endless and ongoing resilience of women working within the care industry in East Renfrewshire during the pandemic.
During my initial research, I interviewed three women. The first was Colette, who was forced to leave her London-based career in make-up artistry to work full time in care homes. The second was Anita, a personal care worker for elderly and disabled adults. The third was Lisa, a personal care worker for disabled adults who during the early stages of Lockdown went into labour with her fourth child. Each interview gave me insight into the harsh reality these women experience in their everyday lives. A common theme that emerged was their shared experience of mental tenacity, and the never-ending physical demands of balancing motherhood with the challenges of caring throughout the pandemic.
An emphasis was placed on the constant washing of hands, changing of bedding, clothes and PPE. To explore this further, I visited the NHS laundry facilities in Hillington. I learned how the factory functioned to clean, dry, iron and fold the fabric. I began to explore the laundry as a material, testing ideas in the pond area at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
As an artist I am interested in carrying out physical motions and tasks to connect with others, and this led to the repeated actions of wringing and twisting cloth in the final artwork. I decided the best way to honour these women would be to use their own voices to tell their stories.
Kayleigh Sarah McGuinness, “neo-chrìochnach”, stills from video installation
For more Woven in Renfrewshire, have a look at the online exhibition and the work of the other commissioned artists – t s Beall, Karen Herbison, Kayleigh Sarah McGuinness and Audrey O’Brien.