About Cut From The Same Cloth
The goal of Cut From The Same Cloth is to foster connections that pave the way for meaningful integration of minority voices with UCD Conway Institute’s Patient Voice in Health Research initiative. Arising from an art and health research collaboration the exhibition Cut From The Same Cloth centres around the fabric of our lives. A handwoven tapestry documents a unique community of members of local minority communities and biomedical researchers.
Exhibition Details
🔹 Date & Time: 17 April to 29 May 2025
🔹 Opening Times: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm, Sunday, 11am-5pm
🔹 Admission: Free
About the Artist - Lorna Donlon
Lorna Donlon is a tapestry weaver who merges the ancient art of weaving with scientific concepts. With a degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, she creatively bridges art and science through tapestry and installations inspired by the scientific practices of categorising and labelling nature.
Cut From The Same Cloth is Donlon’s second exhibition curated with UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research.
During her time as the UCD College of Science Artist in Residence (2022-23), Donlon created the “measuring tape of my life.” This piece, inspired by scientific methods of measurement, represents her life through fabric pieces from garments worn by her grandmother, parents, herself, and her three daughters. The section representing her daughters spans the longest length, symbolising the future.
Donlon incorporated this measuring tape into her tapestry, connecting the fabric stories shared by women from minority communities and UCD Conway biomedical researchers during their “Get Togethers.” It acts as a symbolic thread, intertwining personal histories with scientific narratives.
Artist Lorna Donlon weaving a tapestry.
Connecting Biomedical Research with Community Voices
In 2024, the Get Togethers initiative brought researchers from UCD Conway Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Research together with women from minority communities across Ireland. These gatherings aimed to build lasting relationships and integrate diverse voices into UCD Conway’s Patient Voice in Health Research initiative.
United by the shared significance of fabric in our lives, women exchanged stories at venues including the Hunt Museum in Limerick, the Irish Islamic Cultural Centre, the National Museum at Collins Barracks, and community centres in Kilkenny, Dundalk, Roscommon, and Dublin. Participants explored biomedical research through fabric prints depicting studies on cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, bacterial vaccines, and more.
Researchers, in turn, shared personal fabric stories. Professor Amanda McCann, who studies triple-negative breast cancer, brought organza fabric stained with cerbB2/HER2 from a breast tumour, alongside the dress her mother wore to her PhD conferring in 1992. These exchanges fostered deeper understanding, bridging science and personal experience.
Participants in the Limerick Get Together in April 2024
This image showcases organza fabric used in research to represent staining for c-erbB2/HER2 in a breast tumor. Inspired by Professor Amanda McCann’s work on triple-negative breast cancer, the fabric captures the intricate patterns of staining observed in tumor samples, highlighting the presence (or absence) of HER2 expression.
Professor Amanda McCann is photographed with the dress her mother wore on the day of her PhD conferring in 1992.
Free Event: Unveiling the Stories Behind Cut From The Same Cloth
Join us for a special event exploring the powerful stories woven into Cut From The Same Cloth, a handwoven tapestry that documents a unique community experience.
🔹 Date & Time: 4 – 5pm, Thursday, 24th April
🔹 Location: The Hunt Museum
🔹 Admission: Free
To learn more and register for this event, please click here!
Cut From The Same Cloth Partners
Event details
If looking for one of our objects, please click here