Assemblage/Embedded artworks
Collage and assemblage are central to the practice, where the handling of materials and visual ephemera becomes a method of thinking through form and meaning. Archives, sketches, drawings, and found objects are sorted, arranged, and positioned in close proximity—jostling and sitting side by side as inquisitive constellations. These quizzical assemblages aim to embed themselves within their surroundings, quietly activating space while awaiting interaction and interpretation from the viewer.
In this sense, the artwork is not simply an object to be viewed but a space of relation—activated through proximity, arrangement, and the presence of the viewer. Meaning emerges through interaction, dialogue, and shared experience, where materials, context, and audience meet. Here, the work becomes something lived rather than observed: embedded within its surroundings and completed through encounter.
car park intervention project
Embedded Art Practice, a site-specific installation devised and presented by Melissa O’Donnell (2025), was located at Thomas Street Car Park, Dublin. This geographical location offers a unique The project repurposed an unused advertising lightbox as a public artwork, transforming a dormant display structure into a platform for reflection on the varied socio-economic dynamics present at this busy urban site
Positioned within a location with an estimated footfall of over 150,000 users, the work operated as a flexible and fluid interface between artwork and street audience—embedding itself within everyday circulation rather than separating from it. By occupying an existing communications structure, the installation invited interaction, pause, and re-reading of a familiar space, reframing the lightbox as a site for critical visibility within the urban environment.
A colour-field assemblage in which painting and the screen co-exist, positioning reflective and critical thinking around the image and its systems of dispersion. Referencing Seth Price’s writing on circulation and distribution, the work considers how images move across surfaces, formats, and contexts—shifting between material presence and mediated space. Here, colour operates as both field and interface, where painting becomes a site of encounter with the expanded life of the image beyond the frame.
