Sadie Hennessy is a multi-disciplinary artist who defines herself as a collagist, but for whom the idea of collage has expanded to encompass the third and fourth dimensions, creating immersive environments and events that examine the zeitgeist and the world around her as she perceives it. She is interested in working in non-gallery spaces on site-specific projects, and has begun to introduce video, song, audio, and performative elements into her work, always incorporating melancholia and dark humour. Her work is made with public engagement in mind, with a keen awareness of an audience and a desire to create ephemeral, memorable experiences that live on in people’s minds.
Sadie is currently creating a site-specific installation in a quarry in Dorset, Area of Outstanding Unnatural Beauty (Tout Quarry, Portland, Dorset, Sept. 2021), commissioned by b-side CIC, exploring the tension between the natural and the man-made world, and GSOH, an interactive performance piece exploring humour, as part of Od Art’s Alone with Everybody Festival 2021.
Recent past work includes The Last Things, a major commission for Margate Now 2020 in conjunction with Turner Contemporary, and Jolene & The Jealous Guys, the main commission at the Od Arts Festival of Rivalry 2018, where she transformed village bus stops into public karaoke booths. Alongside these commissions, Sadie exhibits regularly and teaches on the short courses programme at The Royal Academy, where she was Screen Print Fellow between 2016 and 2019.
Instagram @memphishennessy
Twitter @memphishennessy
Photo: Sadie Hennessy, Jolene and the Jealous Guys, Od Arts Festival 2018
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