Dr Deirdre Feeney

I am an artist and lecturer of Contemporary Art at UniSA Creative with research interests in the materiality of image making, optical image systems as mediators of experience and media archaeology. My research collaborates across STEM, in particular with Physics and Engineering. My creative works are hybrid systems incorporating old and new technologies and technological ideas, from Renaissance natural magic to 19th century optical mechanics and are made using digital fabrication and traditional making skills. With a background in glass-making and the projected moving image, I use materials such as glass and mirror to develop image systems that physically and emotionally engage the viewer.

In 2020 I was an ANAT Synapse Residency recipient, for which I collaborated with the Australian National University Research School of Physics to develop a new optical image system. In 2021 I completed a Research Fellowship at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney investigating an astronomical device used in Australia for the 1874 the Transit of Venus and later employed in early cinema technology. My works have been exhibited in Australia and internationally, for example the ANU School of Art and Design Gallery (2019), Bornholm Museum in Denmark (2012) and William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, USA (2012). My work is held in public Australian and international collections such as the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the National Museum of Ireland.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy Australian National University

• Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours Australian National University