Taking Pride in the Arts Artist Spotlight 1
Ciara Butler (she/her) My name is Ciara Butler (she/her) I am a 25 year old artist from Cork. From an early age, art has brought me so much comfort in my life. A lot of my work serves as a visual exploration of my inner thoughts and feelings. When I create art, I feel like I can authentically express myself without any limitations. During my childhood, attending art class at my local studio was my favourite part of the week. As I grew older, at 17, I began working there, assisting in teaching younger children the joys of drawing and painting. Being part of something that had brought me so much joy during my younger years was so fulfilling that I knew I wanted to pursue this further. When I finished secondary school I moved out of my village to attend art college. This allowed me to start being more comfortable in myself. I felt really alienated growing up in a small village that had such a strong religious influence and heteronormative attitudes, so it took me years to shed those influences, accept myself and start to live more authentically. I started learning digital art in 2020 during the pandemic and I fell in love with it. Now my work is primarily digital. Last year I moved to Italy as it has always been a dream of mine, I would travel around a lot, sketching any new place that I would see. I like to translate the beauty of the world around me into vibrant colourful pieces. I now continue to work abroad teaching English to kids and doing art commissions on the side. This piece of work delves into the experience of navigating the heteronormative confines of society as a queer woman. I tried to depict the female body in a way which evokes a sense of restriction. It shows the female figure tangled and confined by their own bedsheets which I painted in the colours of the lesbian flag. As a consequence of societal attitudes, queer women often experience shame and discomfort with their sexuality, rendering their bedroom a place of unease rather than a safe space. I really tried to capture the confinement and isolation that I felt growing up queer and closeted. Ultimately, my artwork aims to highlight the resilience of queer women in embracing their identities and the challenges of heteronormative social constraints.
Every year, Cork Pride puts out an open call to the writers, activists and artists of the LGBT+ community, to give people the opportunity to contribute to the Cork Pride magazine. This year, we invited visual artists to submit their work for the first ever Cork Pride Artist Spotlight.
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