Artist Statement

Eamonn B. Shanahan is an Irish artist from the large Tipperary town of Thurles. He graduated from the Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork in June 2014 where his primary focus was in lens based media and arts administration. Eamonn began his Master of Arts in Creative Producing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London in October. Eamonn is also working on the promotion and emanation of his graduate film ‘Workspace’ around the Country. Eamonn works as a freelance filmmaker, photographer and graphic designer.

After an extensive period in Art Therapy during his teens, Eamonn realized the strength of Art. While in secondary school he never set out to be a practicing artist. His interest in the arts was ignited from various influences such as school, hereditary, and through his involvement with his local Theatre. Eamonn’s work takes on the term ‘Art’ in its’ broadest capacity in that it engages with the multidisciplinary of painting, the human form as a manipulative sculpture through dance and performance, music, and indeed film and its’ ability to beat the impossible. Caravaggio, Sergei Diaghilev, Orson Welles, Samuel Beckett, Maya Deren and numerous others play a significant influence in the work.

"I realized that Joyce had gone as far as one could in the direction of knowing more, [being] in control of one’s material. He was always adding to it...I realized that my own way was in impoverishment, in lack of knowledge and in taking away, in subtracting rather than in adding."
Samuel Beckett

Initially as a painter, the work portrayed atmospheric and structural concepts, dealing with light, depth and movement. The idea of narcissism and identity evolved within the work. As he went through his third level education, Eamonn began to work in Photography; it conceptually continued to be focused on ego, persona, narcissism and the irrelevance of time and space. In his photography, Eamonn set out to illustrate the contrast between perception and reality through the movement of the body and the manipulation of the camera. In his undergraduate Eamonn adapted modules in Digital Video Production and lectures in Film consequently his work moved almost entirely to film. Using this mechanism Eamonn could obtain the collaboration and choreography of the major art disciplines including music, theatre, art and film.

Endorsing film as a medium allowed Eamonn to have a very objective perspective on his work. As a director and filmmaker, Eamonn’s process is very extensive. The actors he uses, professional or otherwise, go through a workshop process that involves a very methodical and subconscious approach. Eamonn’s filmmaking process would be similar to Beckett’s in that each sequence is precisely structured.

Cinematography and lighting are very important to the process as they create the atmosphere in an otherwise absent environment. This allows interpretation and ambiguity enabling viewers to engage deeper into the work. Eamonn believes that in society the role of the artist is to create a language tool that can accessible to everyone no matter who they are or where they come from. It gives people a different perspective on the world as well as allowing artists to voice their opinion and tell their story.

Eamonn's debut short film 'Worspace' is currently on tour around Ireland. ‘Workspace’ was made in early 2014. It features a strong cast including Eoin Cannon, Lucy Tobin, Eoghan Moloney, Maeve Guilfoyle and Ryan Grace. The score for the piece was written by Cork composer John O' Brien and is performed by percussionist Alex Petcu. ‘Workspace’ is a short film that looks at the perception of reality and explores the trigger of the distorted mind. Click here to see tour dates and locations.