Exhibitions & Published Work

As an illustrator, I find immense joy in exhibiting my work for the world to see. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to participate in several exhibitions, and I would like to thank each and every curator, gallery and publisher that has helped me on each journey. It's a surreal experience to see my work out in the public eye, as it is something I had only dreamed of when I was young and hanging my artwork on our kitchen door.

I feel so lucky for the opportunities I have been given to showcase my artistic expression, and would like to thank the staff at NCAD Illustration for being so helpful, and assisting us as students in projecting our work into the world.

I would also like to thank the National Print Museum, The National Museum of Literature, The Irish Independent, and many more unsung heroes who have helped me begin to realise my dreams.

Below you will find a selection of my exhibited & commissioned work to date. Please feel free to contact me with any inquiries or commissions!

“Art is Too Important not to Share”

- Romero Britto

"The Belonging Project"

AUGUST 2023 | MUSEUM OF LITERATURE

'The Belonging Project was a creative exploration of belonging and connectedness in the post-pandemic university. Weaving together the knowledge of leading national and international scholars, student experience and the creative expression this project looked to understand what belonging is, where is it found and how we might re-kindle it on campus as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.

UCD School of Education and School of Philosophy, in collaboration with NCAD Communication Design invited short written submissions on the theme of belonging from all members of the community.

Selected submissions were then paired with students from NCAD's Communication Design Department, who developed creative responses inspired by the writer's words. This all culminated in an in-person art exhibition and seminar in Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) in August 2023.'

My piece, in response to Cathal Brogan's short story 'How You Found It', depicted a memory of a woman returning home from a night out to a slice of cake, symbolising the first time she felt like she belonged in her new college town.

The Cry of Granuaile Poster - Alex Fortune-min.jpg

"Alternate Take" - DIFF

FEBRUARY 2022 | 'THE CRY OF GRANUAILE'
THE LIGHTHOUSE CINEMA

The Dublin International Film Festival collaborated with NCAD Illustration to produce a set of posters, interpreting the films screened throughout the festival in a highly imaginative way.

Each student was allocated a film, and synopsis - no other information was made available to us about the film. I was given the opportunity to Illustrate a poster for Donal Foreman's "The Cry of Granuaile' - "A grieving American filmmaker (Dale Dickey) and her Irish assistant (Judith Roddy) tour the west of Ireland, researching a film about Granuaile, the legendary 16th-century rebel and 'pirate queen'."

After a series of iterations, I depicted a film clapperboard as the main subject - I wanted to draw attention to the filmmaking aspect of the film, as when speaking with Donal & my college tutors, we felt that this journey of discovery was far more important than finding the supposed 'pirate queen'.

The posters were A1 in size, and exhibited within the Lighthouse Cinema throughout the festival.

"The Symmetry of Sound "

NOVEMBER 2023 | THE VISUAL GALLERY

The Symmetry of Sound was a unique live event which aimed to showcase the collaborative work of artists from 3 different art disciplines - Music, Visual Art & Dance. It was the second exhibition of this nature, following its successful predecessor - 'The Melody of Melancholy", & was part-funded by Carlow County Council. Work from both exhibitions can be seen page left.

Music artists performed original compositions based on the theme of "Home, A Safe Haven". Following this, Visual artists unveiled original art works that have drawn their inspiration from the music compositions and dancers interpreted both the music and art pieces to deliver a truly stunning visual and aural experience for the audience.

This was the culmination of over 3 months of an inclusive, collaborative artistic project, and aimed to give the general public an opportunity to see and hear first hand, the inspiration, thought process and creative energy that is required to produce original art works in any form.

I was lucky to be paired with Aaron Smith - a local musical artist who created stunning pieces of music entitled 'Guide me Right', and 'Hold my Hand' for me to respond to.

"The Bunker"

SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW IRISH WRITING
THE IRISH INDEPENDENT

Appearing in the Irish Independent on the last Saturday of each month, New Irish Writing is an opportunity open to writers who are Irish or residents of Ireland. Illustrators are often asked to create work to open these stories in print.

I was commissioned by NCAD to create an accompanying piece for publication in response to Natalie Robinson's story 'The Bunker'.

The story discusses the concept of a not so distant future, where we are driven underground by disease and destruction - I wanted to contrast this poignant story, by looking at how we may adapt in this situation - many people will choose comfort over fighting back, and thus may result in a well cushioned and furnished underground dwelling.

"A Letterpress Collection of James Joyce's Ulysses"

JUNE 2022 | NATIONAL PRINT MUSEUM

To mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ulysses, the National Print Museum commissioned NCAD Illustration students to create a letterpress print celebration of James Joyce’s seminal novel.

Featuring the collaborative work of twenty-three second year Illustration students from the National College of Art & Design, this exhibition explored several episodes from this important work through a combination of hand-crafted illustration and typography.

Much as Joyce was innovative and experimental in his writing, we were encouraged to be similarly innovative and experimental in the design of these works. Each one is unique, bringing a distinctly diverse set of styles that echo Joyce’s own shifting approach within each episode.

Letterpress printed at Distillers Press, NCAD, the foremost letterpress workshop in third-level education in Ireland.

"Our Shared Future"

APRIL 2022 | NEWSPAPER CLUB

OUR SHARED FUTURE is a publication NCAD Illustration students produced, exploring the art of reportage illustration. The work was developed on location, using illustration to record events, situations and experiences - presenting a snapshot of modern Ireland in the year 2021.

It’s name comes from the title of the Irish Programme for Government. First published in 2020, this document lays out all that the government hopes to achieve over its time in power and includes policies for areas such as change, housing, immigration, education, and more.

Our publication is a response to that document. It contains 23 visual essays that respond to - and report upon - many of the areas and issues covered in the government's programme.

For my piece, I chose to focus on the goal of 'Housing for All', and bringing to light the discrepancy in the upkeep and treatment of different areas in Dublin, depending on how they are often perceived.