'Lightswitch in the Dark’ is part of a series entitled ‘Dead Houses’. They document the traces left behind in the home after the death of the occupant. Many of the series are images where the home has been left for a long period, abandoned. Objects occupy the space left by the former inhabitant, untouched. The series was inspired by experiencing the cultural difference and practices of reassigning possessions/property after death. This offers a challenging mediation on materiality vers…

'Lightswitch in the Dark’ is part of a series entitled ‘Dead Houses’. They document the traces left behind in the home after the death of the occupant. Many of the series are images where the home has been left for a long period, abandoned. Objects occupy the space left by the former inhabitant, untouched. The series was inspired by experiencing the cultural difference and practices of reassigning possessions/property after death.

This offers a challenging mediation on materiality versus spirituality. Are these just the ‘objects’ we live with? Do we imprint our personalities on these inanimate objects? How can we explore the traces and memories of domestic habitation?

‘Lightswitch in the Dark’ is an Archival Pigment Print on 270 gsm Archival Cotton Paper. The edition of 25 hand numbered and embossed prints have been approved by the artist and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Ciara Killalea is a photographer who lives and works in Ireland. In 2010 she graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design. Her work details the memory of everyday domestic life, and invites the viewer to look afresh at a subject, to discover significance, a reassuring sense…

Ciara Killalea is a photographer who lives and works in Ireland. In 2010 she graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design. Her work details the memory of everyday domestic life, and invites the viewer to look afresh at a subject, to discover significance, a reassuring sense of continuity and often surprising beauty. She is interested in the places where people live and how these environments affect their habitants and vice versa. Every time she takes a photograph she imagines the hand that touched the object, the hand that arranged and placed it where it now rests. She imagines a specific kind of narrative, one that is shrouded in reverence and subject to memory. The objects left behind leave the mark of the inhabitant on the building, reflecting the habits, routine and life they lived. There is a sense of intrusion, a sense of sadness and mystery when observing these spaces.