Cosmic Wetness
Cosmic Wetness, a solo exhibition at the Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin, August - October 2023
This exhibition engaged all the senses—the suppleness of glass and marshmallow, the prickly texture of sugary sweets, the stickiness of masking tape. The visual languages of glass and mixed media converged to create an immersive experience for visitors.
Donnellan’s work is queer, feminist (intersectional), playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek, and rooted in radical craft. Audre Lorde’s essay “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power” and adrienne maree brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good” are long-standing influences on her practice.
Her work responds to the kyriarchal systems that seek to separate body from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths. In feminist theory, kyriarchy describes interconnected structures of domination, oppression, and submission.
Donnellan asserts that much of what is dismissed as “pseudo-science” is deeply tied to ancient and Indigenous knowledge. Her practice embraces healing technologies, free energy, and accessible, unpatentable resources. Universal geometry and mineral specimens, for instance, embed subtle energy into the work, connecting us to a theory of everything.
Accessibility was central to the project: Donnellan collaborated with Emilie Conway on Braille labels, an audio-described exhibition tour, and touch-friendly reproductions of key works, ensuring full audience engagement. As critic Aoife Banks noted, the show embodied "a joyous congruence of feminine erotic pleasure and sensory knowledges.”
