Kitty Callaghan


AVAILABLE WORKS

Kitty Callaghan’s solo exhibition Collages presents a rigorous examination of constructed imagery through her established methodology of cutting and reweaving sourced material – drawn from vintage publications and her extensive personal photographic archive. Thematically centred on the confluence of botanical representation and historical associations with witchcraft, the exhibition interrogates the latent power dynamics and esoteric knowledge implied by its central proposition: Are all florists witches? This conceptual framework extends Callaghan’s ongoing exploration of femininity, perception, and the archival impulse, positioning floral motifs beyond decoration towards potent symbols of coded knowledge and natural agency.

Building upon the conceptual foundations evident in previous work such as Pixel Asphyxial – which addressed memory’s fallibility and the paradox of digital permanence – Collages marks a significant evolution in material practice. Alongside intricate woven photographic pieces, Callaghan introduces large-scale, layered suspended textiles and timber-based photographic assemblages. These new formats function as spatial interventions and structural supports, transforming fragmented two-dimensional imagery into immersive environments and object-based constructions. The suspended textiles suggest ethereal screens or veiled spaces, whilst the timber assemblages evoke ritualistic artefacts or archival containers, grounding the ephemeral quality of the collaged image within a tangible materiality.

Through this expanded practice, Callaghan critically engages the mechanics of vision and representation. The systematic deconstruction of source imagery – whether found botanical illustrations or her own ‘moments chosen... to live in perpetuity’ – and their meticulous reconstruction via weaving and assemblage directly confronts photography’s presumed indexicality. This labour-intensive process deliberately introduces subjective distortion and temporal dislocation, generating disorienting compositions that destabilise singular readings. Oscillating between analogue handcraft and digital origins, Callaghan’s work compels a reconsideration of identity, the female gaze, and the nature of the photographic document itself within an era of overwhelming visual saturation.