Artist Statement

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Kerrie Hanna (b.1990, BA Contemporary Applied Art) is a multi-disciplinary visual artist based in Vault Artist Studios Belfast working in illustration, painting, murals and stained glass.

Often figures are seen in a state of flux, whether folded under the weight of architectural forms, or growing from the landscape. Forms within the work tangle in associative reference as bodily experience, memory and perception flow together.

Her intuitive process is used to convey both loose narrative and psychological uncertainty, referencing the surrounding landscape, flora and fauna alongside layered imagery, resulting in works imbued with deep personal symbolism. Her paintings incorporate foraged pigments from local flora and minerals to emphasise its hyper-locality and site-specific nature.

ARTIST BIO:

Kerrie Hanna’s practice is often socially engaged with a strong focus on projects centred on community arts, peace building and mental health and wellbeing. Kerrie has worked with organisations such as National Gallery of Ireland, The MAC, Belfast City Council, National Trust, Ulster University and Education and Library Board on co-design facilitation projects. She has been awarded residencies such as Ballinglen Arts Foundation 2024, The MAC Community Artist In Residence 2023 and Malone College Artist in Residence 2023.

Kerrie has worked as a stained glass artist for over ten years, learning the trade during time working as a glass painter on heritage restoration public projects and on new commissions at Glassmarque Design before establishing her own studio. Kerrie has worked in painting restoration on projects such as Grand Opera House (2020), Queens University (2019). She has created stained glass commissions for private residences and public buildings across Ireland.