Sinead O'Donnell performance artist
"Are you out yet?" Artist Sinead O'Donnell was recently asked. Nothing to do with her sexuality,ÌýbutÌý her dyslexia.ÌýBeing "out" in this context meant outing an invisibleÌýdisability.Ìý
Today the 32 year old Dublin born performance artist, who only found out about her dyslexia in 2004, received an award of £70,000 for a major new artworkÌý - CAUTION - which will explore invisibility. ÌýIt's one of 13 new commissions for , a ground breaking programme for the Cultural Olympiad that celebrates arts and culture by disabled and deaf artists.
Sinead, who has been based in Belfast since 1995, is a graduate of the University of Ulster where she studiedÌýsculpture. Her work today is performance based. TheÌýpieceÌýshe's working on involves her stackingÌýupÌýdinner plates to her height, around 170 she told me, and then putting on an extra 30/40Ìýuntil they wobble and come crashing down.
SheÌýcame into studio earlier with a Japanese performance artist, Shiro Masuyama. He apologised for his lack of English and spoke haltingly, but passionately, about Sinead and her work. He is one of five international artistsÌýcollaborating with her on CAUTION.He has ADD, another invisible disability.
Applications for the third and final round of commissions are now open from disabled and Deaf artists or disability arts groups. Check out
CAUTION is due to be shown in 2012 in the gt gallery in Belfast.
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