Biography

My ceramic sculptures emerge from the overlapping worlds of laboratory and lived experience. As a biochemist, I explore the hidden lives of blood cells—how they move, signal, and collide in moments of healing and harm. In clay, these unseen processes are translated into tactile forms, where scientific inquiry meets the messiness of everyday life.

Drawing on the visual language of biomedical science, the history of medicine, and botanical illustration, while also reflecting the quieter, more human pressures of balancing a career in science with personal and family life, I use ceramics to make visible what is normally abstract, microscopic, or overlooked.

In 2023, I completed an MA in Ceramics and Maker at Cardiff School of Art and Design. I developed sculptural works rooted in my biomedical research, addressing themes of bleeding, pain, cells, and molecules. Through clay, I also explored ethical issues in contemporary science, including vaccine hesitancy, and science misinformation.  

Originally from Ireland, I trained as a biochemist, completing my PhD at the University of Bristol in 1993, followed by postdoctoral research in Switzerland and the United States. Since returning to the UK in 1999, I have worked at Cardiff University, where my research focuses on how blood cells communicate during clotting and how these processes drive diseases such as atherosclerosis, infection, and autoimmunity. 

Media article about Art Riddler exhibition 2023

Cardiff University profile