Elinor O'Donovan

Elinor O'Donovan speculates playful responses to questions about knowledge, memory and truth. Working primarily in film and installation, she emphasises the ways stories shape our understanding of ourselves and the worlds we inhabit, using humour to interrogate the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction. Drawing heavily on pop cultural references and tropes, she recontextualises shared symbols to question what assumptions they may impart. Playfulness is key to her methodology, using visual wit to engage with complex themes such as personal identity and western cultural myths.

Elinor O'Donovan (b. Cork, 1995) has exhibited in solo and group shows across Ireland, the UK, Portugal, Italy, South Korea, and Mexico. Solo exhibitions include: Metametamorphosis, 36 Gallery, Newcastle, (2026); The Immeasurable Grief of the Prawn, GeneratorProjects, Dundee (2023); Brain Worms, Sample-Studios at the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Cork (2021); and Brain Worms: Redux, 126 Gallery, Galway (2021). Selected commissions include: Crawford Art Gallery and Cork Midsummer Festival (2024); and Island City: Cork’s Public Art Trail, commissioned by the National Sculpture Factory and Cork City Council (2023). She is a recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021), and the Cork Midsummer Festival Jane Anne Rothwell Award (2024). In 2024, Elinor O'Donovan was shortlisted for the Golden Fleece Award.