Dreamscape etchings by Caroline Donohue exhibit at Draíocht in Blanchardstown

Viewing one of Caroline Donohue’s intricate etchings is like stepping into a dream world or parallel universe, where familiar settings have become overrun with beautiful oddities.

Donohue’s first solo show - Selected Works to Date - is taking place at Draíocht First Floor Gallery in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, until February 25, 2012.

Donohue invites the viewer to peer into deserted ballrooms, decaying theatres and dusty sitting rooms that once upon a time exuded splendor. But these rooms are not simply abandoned, lesser versions of their former selves; they maintain a timeless beauty and an otherworldliness, they are fairytale dreamscapes.

Donohue often gleans inspiration from Victorian society. This influence is clearly seen in her work, which often depicts rooms furnished with the era's grandeur.

Her work typically features the juxtaposition of two worlds: colliding parallel universes, the conscious and subconscious, reality and fantasy, nature and the world of man. The viewer often witnesses nature in the process of reclaiming something that was once its own.

“This body of work has been inspired by my on-going exploration of physical, psychological and poetic space,” explains Donohue. “I am interested in the delicate point where man and the natural world co-exist or in some cases collide. I strive to create places for poetic possibility, a space where time can be suspended, I extend to the onlooker a glimpse of intricate private worlds. Each narrative creates a dialogue between these internal and external conflicting worlds, thus providing a place to dream.”

And places to dream they are indeed.

A ballroom is overcome by dripping limestone - an opulent chandelier now hangs among stalactites as their partners below become the sole figures on the dance floor. An empty, imposing sitting room is mired with dried, twisting branches that have climbed and clung their way from the fireplace and door upwards, extending almost to the ceiling and able to support a host of birds.

The environments Donohue creates do not quite exist in the world we know, and like any place that exists slightly off the map, here there be monsters.

Donohue’s subject matter is not malevolent in itself, but, as in every fairytale, a darkness lingers. A melancholy dances in the margins and often tiptoes across her works. The source of this sadness is unclear; perhaps we are left mourning a bygone era, or witnessing nature reclaim something that we stole, or perhaps we simply dread being torn away from the dream.

Caroline Donohue graduated from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in 2005 with a first-class honours degree in fine art printmaking. Her graduate show grabbed the attention of the Graphic Studio Gallery, which offered her one of its prestigious Graduate Awards. She has since exhibited in Ireland and internationally.

Donohue works primarily in the medium of aquatint etching. Despite the long, labour-intensive process that such a medium requires, Donohue has produced an impressive body of 23 works since her graduation six years ago. Her exhibition at Draíocht is a selection of these works.

Caroline Donohue - Selected Works to Date exhibits at Draíocht First Floor Gallery in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, until February 25, 2012. For more information, visit www.draiocht.ie.

words by Kathleen Harris