About

Clarissa Kelly is an emerging artist based in Ireland, whose work explores the complexities of cultural identity through the metaphor of shadows. Born to an Irish father and Filipino mother, her artistic practice is deeply informed by her experience navigating multiple cultures.

Working primarily in oil painting and drawing, Clarissa creates contemplative self-portraits that investigate the relationship between self and shadow. Her work examines how identity, like shadows, is mutable and shifts with context, time, and perspective.

While reflections are often valued for their factual appearances for the brief moments in which they exist, shadows are much more ambiguous and dynamic, shifting with changes in light and time of day. These qualities make shadows less immediate, often overlooked or dismissed in relation to our own sense of self.

In her work, Clarissa aims to bridge this gap, bringing the shadow and the self together on a shared surface, to create a deeper connection between the two. This act is both personal and universal, a reflection on wholeness and the layers that shape who we are.

Clarissa graduated from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin, where she specialized in Painting at the School of Fine Art. Her work has been exhibited at NCAD Works and continues to develop themes of cultural duality, acceptance, and the ongoing process of self-understanding.