ARTISTIC INFLUENCES
Artists, Ideas and concepts which have informed my artistic practice and developed my work.
Influences:
Marc Quinn’s ‘Family Portrait’ (2001) influenced McColgan; the work presents the instructions of Quinn’s family’s genome (DNA), investigating the enigmatic ambiguity of our existence. Quinn influenced McColgan’s practice significantly as she began experimenting with subject matter cultivated through scientific methods in her artistic practice to comment on interpersonal relationships.
During her foundation year, McColgan discovered Heikki Leis’ ‘Afterlife’ (2005-2016). The photography series that depicts fungi recyclers led her to experiment with approaches to working with mould microbes, looking at spore landscapes and how life may appear from a different perspective.
Through her developing practice, an interest emerged in recontextualising our perceptions of microbes to reimagine our relationship with them. McColgan also researched the Theseus’ Ship Paradox and the idea of whether our identity relates to our original parts, and whether we are the same person if all our cells are replaced every 7-10 years? These research points provide a field of knowledge McColgan comments on within her practice, referencing a microbial perspective and capturing the detail of these omnipresent microbes and cells.
Marc Quinn's Family Portrait, 2001
