Kate MccGwire

Shedded from the Pigeon, Mallard, Crow, Magpie, or Goose, the artist finds her feathers or receives them from farmers and gamekeepers, via relationships cultivated over many years. Borrowing from the traditional techniques of a Plumassier, MccGwire organises, trims and dyes the feathers. Through meticulous placement, they gather into disquieting and muscular sculptures. In MccGwire’s practice, the symbolism of the feather: flight, mythic creature, debris, is grounded inside a corporeal sculptural language. When threaded together inside a frame, her works generate patterns and highlight the natural iridescence of her material. Behind glass cabinets or as large-scale installations, MccGwire evokes contorting bodily forms and surfaces, both human and non-human alike.