Domino Whisker

Domino Whisker was awarded the 2021 RCSI Art Award for her work 'The Birds and I' at the 191st RHA Annual Exhibition.

Her commission for RCSI titled 'I Have Found Myself', draws inspiration from brain scan imagery of Alzheimer’s patients, transforming the visual patterns of neurological change into bird-like forms woven into the tapestry.

Inspired by her father’s diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Whisker’s work explores memory and its loss, shaped by both personal experience and the broader fragility of the human mind.

Speaking about the piece, she said: “This piece explores the effects of Alzheimer’s disease through brain scan imaging, offering the viewer a chance to look at scans not with fear but with curiosity and imagination. The tangled plaques that cause irreversible damage are reinterpreted as birds in murmuration. Within the forms, you will notice bird-like figures emerging from where the Alzheimer’s plaques once were. This transformation is intentional – reimagining decay as movement and confusion as flight, reflecting the disorientation and fluidity of an Alzheimer’s brain.”

About the artist

Domino Whisker is an Irish artist and writer who lives and works in Dublin. Born in Dublin in 1988, Whisker spent her early life in the United States before returning to Ireland.

She works primarily in embroidery, often incorporating text into her hand-stitched pieces, and is entirely self-taught.

Domino has shown in both solo and group exhibitions and has received numerous commissions, including projects for Claridge's in London and the Devlin and Mayson hotels in Dublin.