CHANCES are that you may have come across and admired Shane O’Driscoll’s distinctive prints and murals.

It could be while you are jetting off on your hols at Cork Airport or heading for a leisurely stroll around Cork city centre.

There’s no denying that the Bandon native’s style, and eye for detail and creative talent has seen him emerge as one of the leading lights in print design in Ireland in recent years. 

His latest exhibition ‘Evidence of Exhibition’ is currently on display at Bandon Library until the end of this month, his first ever solo exhibition to be held in his home town.

Speaking at the opening, Shane gave a detailed outline of his career to date much to the delight of the large audience present which included many of his family members.

‘It was a nice insight into everything I have made so far and I wouldn’t normally have the time to look back on things I have worked on. I’m usually more looking forward but this was very interesting,’ said Shane afterwards.

He said his latest exhibition, which he curated over the past month or so, is a mix of his work which included prints that he was inspired by a stint in Paris in 2023.

In fact, Shane spent two periods in the French capital within the space of 12 months as an artist in residence the Centre Culturel Irlandais.

‘I applied for a residency in Paris to give myself some think time in 2023 and had a studio there for a month. It was my first time doing something like this and it was great to meet other creatives from music, literature and art. I made a whole new network too which is what I wanted as I wanted to shake things up creatively too.’

He said spending a month in Paris was something new for him, and took in inspirations from walking around the city, the fruits of which were later published in a zine that he created.

‘My work is very much reactionary to living and being in a space so I found myself taking pictures and then the challenge was to break all that down and disseminate into abstract compositions.’

He was back in Paris within months for the 2024 Olympics after he was selected as an artist in residence for Team Ireland for a month.

‘It was an insane year to be honest. This was a total difference experience and I got selected following an open call. It was the first time Team Ireland had an artist in residence so it was a learning experience for them too as well as me.’

He held workshops with athletes which was part of his initial proposal and said he was there working for Team Ireland.

Shane was also commissioned to design an artwork to commemorate 100 years of Team Ireland participating in the Olympics and his unique design was used on the water bottles for all athletes as well as prints and t-shirts.

Durrus is now home to Shane after he and his wife moved down there from Cork city during the lockdown and they haven’t looked back since. 

‘My wife is from this area  and I realised I didn’t need to be in the city and that I am pretty adaptable. I found lockdown quite rewarding in regards to having free time and also devoting time to projects that I was putting on the long finger.’

‘I’m surrounded by fields here and I had spray cans so I just went off painting on old farm machinery and it was about applying my artwork to different surfaces, which I called rural art. There was a new energy in that too in that it was a totally different space to work in. I would ramble around my wife’s family farm and documented all those works in another zine.’

The Ardú Street Art Project, which he established with Peter Martin, Paul Gleeson and Rose-Anne Kidney emerged during lockdown because they had no access to studio and galleries.

‘We put together a proposal to Cork City Council for outside contemporary murals in the city centre and it came together pretty quickly. It fitted in with social distancing too as we were up in cherry pickers and out in the open air. We had only planned to do it for a year but it is still going with plans for more murals in the pipeline.’

Shane has received notable commissions in recent years from big brands and his work also adorns education institutions like Trinity College Dublin and DCU but ‘The Wonder of Travel’ at Cork Airport completed last September remains his and Peter’s biggest project to date.

Shane O’Driscoll and Peter Martin get a close up view of their latest piece of street art in Cork Airport.

‘We had always noticed the potential for a mural there as it was a like a  corridor of concrete greyness. Cork Airport then approached and it was fantastic working with Peter up on cheery pickers working on this mural which is 180 square metres.’

Shane added that murals like these give great visibility to art for people who may never go to art gallery and it also can generate conversation about art and design. He said he recently went back to the airport to see how the mural looks.

Shane’s magic touch has also seen him work with companies like Whiplash Brewery to design their beer cans or with Ceadogán for their distinctive rugs. He also dabbled with furniture having hand printed the linen to cover a chair and foot stoll made by Alison Ospina of Greenwood Chairs.

Fans of Shane’s work will be extra-excited to know that his design work will be adorned on Sligo-based Clo Chocolates bespoke Easter egg boxes this Easter.

‘They got in touch with me last April to ask me to come up with a design for their easter eggs so that was a first for me.  It was quite intricate though as it’s not a flat surface.’

He remains philosophical about his work as a print artist and says the more you put out there, the more you get back too and that is certainly true about his impressive career so far.

Shane O’Driscoll’s solo exhibition Evidence of Origin’ runs at Bandon Library until February 28th