Sarah graduated from Belfast School of Art in 2006, she worked as an artist full time until moving in disability support work where she later went on to complete a Bsc in Speech and language Therapy.
She often combines her skills to using art to support people with their communication, working with people with dementia and other progressive neurological conditions and currently facilitates Inspire+ supporting Artists with learning disabilities to build their portfolios at Belfast School of Art.
Sarah is a multidisciplinary artist, predominantly working in paint and printmaking. She is currently working on a series of book portraits in watercolour.
Her submission for the RUA exhibition reimagines the familiar proverb "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" through the lens of three seminal novels: The Day of the Triffids, Fahrenheit 451, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Each book, a powerful critique of societal dysfunction, censorship, and conformity, together forming a cautionary narrative about the consequences of passive complicity.
See No Evil is represented by The Day of the Triffids, where humanity's sudden blindness is both literal and metaphorical. The collapse of society is catalyzed not just by loss of sight, but by a willful blindness to the dangers lurking in plain view. This reflects our collective tendency to ignore uncomfortable truths until it is too late.
Hear No Evil is represented by Fahrenheit 451, a world where books are burned and knowledge is silenced. It represents the deliberate muting of dissenting voices and the erasure of history through censorship. In this world, the act of hearing-of truly listening-becomes radical and dangerous.
Speak No Evil finds its voice-or lack thereof-in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where systems of control render individuals voiceless. The institution functions as a metaphor for societal pressures to conform, and the silencing of those who challenge authority.
Together, these books serve as vessels of warning. The piece asks: What happens when we choose not to see, not to hear, and not to speak?