Grounds to Forget?
Grounds to Forget is in response to the neglected history of the St Patrick’s Hospital mother and baby home in Fermoy. The exhibition brings together the artist’s research and found materials to create a space of encounter for viewers to consider this history – one that has been sitting, unacknowledged, on the doorsteps of countless communities, waiting for us to let it in. Each soft book on display represents a child who died in the mother and baby home one hundred years ago. While all that is left to acknowledge the women and children who died in the institution is a memorial stone marked in memory of “special babies”, Grounds to Forget challenges the absences within archives — the stories left out, and the voices unheard.
Bio:
Katie Drago is a visual artist and researcher from Cork. Her work addresses the neglected history of a forgotten mother and baby institution in the town she grew up in – Fermoy. Katie’s practice is centred on challenging the gaps in archives and forging space for the women and children who have been written out of them. She uses photography, sculpture, installation and textiles in her work. ?
Katie graduated from the Crawford College of Art & Design in 2025 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. She was awarded the MTU President’s Prize for her degree show work, No Stone Left Unturned as well as the Best Thesis Award for her thesis, Filling in the gaps of the neglected legacy of Ireland’s mother and baby homes. Katie is currently continuing her studies with a Masters Degree in Contemporary Art Practice. ???
