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- Ellen Greenan
Ellen
Greenan
Scáthach
The name for my graduate collection, ‘Scáthach’ is inspired by the Ulster Celtic warrior goddess in Irish mythology. Scáthach translates in English to mean ‘shadowy one’.
This collection is inspired by stories of the ‘sidhe’ (fairies) which is a supernatural race within Irish culture. The sidhe has been long associated with malevolence in Ireland, from stories about the slaughter of livestock, ruination of crops, spoiling food, abduction and even murder. This collection examines these stories through a more psychological lens and how they represent a deeper level of anxiety and trauma in the Irish subconscious.
Stories of the sidhe would often feature some level of destruction to one’s life either directly or indirectly. For this reason, I was very interested in defacing my textiles and creating raw edge finishings to represent this.
This collection features skin like textures as a way to represent the human body in its most vulnerable state. In the comfort of my own home, I have conducted countless experiments with biomaterials which has formed the basis of my collection. Throughout these experiments I developed the perfect ratio of components to form these translucent skin-like textures which are completely biodegradable and safe for the environment.