Vague Symptom Clinic

Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh is an artist, researcher and Gaeilgeoir from Derry, living and working with chronic illness. His mixed media practice explores complexities inherent within the embodiment of personal loss with the legacy of political violence and lived experience. He is interested in the materialities of artisanal craft objects combined with industrial manufacturing processes to create a specific language of sculptural works. Collaborations (often through informal economies), include working with artisans in the Limousin; a day care centre in Derry; an angling association in Donegal and a family of donkeys in France exploring themes of interspecies relations, labour and care. The collaborations create a kind of ‘primary public’ allowing the work to extend outwards through networks and ‘interest groups’, creating the conditions of meaning-making.

Selected shows include; Eva International, Limerick, Ireland, 29 August – 26 October 2025; Jerwood Survey 3, 2024-2025; Ferox CCA Derry, 2022; Metabolic time / Am meitibileach, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 2022; Periodical Review 12—Practical Magic, Pallas Projects, Dublin, 2022; Outpost Norwich 2019; DOBLES DE PROXIMIDA, Santiago Museum of Contemporary Art, 2018; Tulca International Festival 2017; Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, Treignac Projet, France, 2016; Lofoten International Art Festival (LIAF), Norway, August 2015, Vanishing Futures: Collective Histories of Northern Irish Art, Golden Thread Gallery, 2015.