Stanley Picker Gallery Fellowship
***This link correlates to first 6 image file uploads that are all moving sculpture driven by data.

372.5~River Thames

This is an ongoing body of work that visualises the distribution of water during the 6 hour tidal period (372.5 mins). Utilising real tidal data, the work embodies the movements of the ocean, transformed into a display of motion and form. Incorporating an API Key linked to tidal data with an Arduino board and DC motor, I designed and built a sinusoidal camshaft that creates undulating movements along the x-axis of the fabric while the data controls the vertical movements reflecting the levels of the tides.

Relevant Partners:
Space House London, Irish Arts Council, Eco Show Boat, V&A, Emergency Exit Arts (UK)

Impact of the Work:
Compelled viewers to confront the influence of human ingenuity while fostering a sense of connection and reverence for the sublime forces that move our planet. Exhibited in London for Earth Day 2025, presented in Dublin at the final stop of The Eco Show Boat project funded by Irish Arts Council. Exhibited at Digital Design Festival in V&A.

Message in a Bottle

Message in a Bottle is an evocative installation that merges environmental data, kinetic technology, and sensory storytelling to expose the devastating reality of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Driven by 13 controlled motors and a dataset from NOAA's weather station 46246 (46246 (50°1'2" N 145°10'12" W), — located near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — the work animates significant wave heights recorded every 30 minutes since 2010. These movements translate raw data into a haunting, poetic choreography that simulates the shifting pulse of an ocean weighed down by waste.

Drawing on her deep personal connection to water, shaped by a coastal upbringing in Ireland, O’Leary channels a lifelong fascination with the sea into a powerful commentary on its current condition. Accompanied by a layered soundscape and atmospheric visual projections, the installation immerses viewers in a space that is both beautiful and unsettling. The sonic composition echoes the ocean’s rhythm — at times harmonious, at times dissonant — intensifying the emotional gravity of the experience.

Unlike traditional visualisations, Message in a Bottle brings environmental data to life. The rhythmic rise and fall of the motors mirror the tides and waves, while the projections introduce an ephemeral quality that contrasts starkly with the permanence of plastic. The work asks viewers to reckon with the sublime scale of ecological collapse and the relentless accumulation of human impact.

Part environmental warning, part technological elegy, Message in a Bottle embodies O’Leary’s interdisciplinary practice — one that fuses data, art, and environmental advocacy. It is both a meditation on water’s beauty and a call to action, challenging us to confront the systems we’re entangled in and the future we’re shaping.

N.Y.Sea, 2023

This work uses historic recordings of the NYC river levels in conjunction with storm flood water predictions to communicate the vulnerability of the New York subway system. The data controls the vertical movement while the sinusoidal cam-shaft creates undulating movements along the fabric where the artist has hand embroidered the various subway routes. The installation serves as a catalyst for introspection and dialogue, challenging audiences to reconsider their relationship with the environment and the limits of human understanding. "N.Y.Sea" stands as a testament to the transformative power of art and technology illuminating the complexities of our shared existence.
Soundtrack: Olsen, Boards of Canada