Fiona Reilly’s practice has been described as “approaching nothing as closely as possible”. She employs drawing, video, photography, sculpture and installation as a means of investigation into our surroundings and the everyday. Subject matter/themes/ starting points for the work are diverse, often ambiguos, and at times elusive. They include, or have included; consumption, journeys, emotion, urban living, repetition, time, beauty, location, and the ephemeral. In tandem with this the work is concerned with the production of art and how the process of making art is not independent of the world at large; the pieces often being generated by minor events in everyday life.
The sculptural works are constructed from objects that are the debris of the artist's routine activities and are collected over a specifically designated period of time. This is integral to both the concept and production of the work. They act as investigations into the passing of time; the illustration of the growth of the work over time is paramount. The pieces present the familiar in an unfamiliar light as emblems of time, habit, routine and life itself, raising questions regarding our definitions of beauty, preciousness, and what we assign significance to.
Video is employed in a documentary manner at first. Through subtle editing processes the ‘everyday’ is transcended leaving room for the viewers own subjective experience. Reilly is concerned with the use of video in a lo-fi/minimal fashion that offers a retreat from the constant visual bombardment of today’s society and a return to a more quiet, contemplative form of observation and questioning.