Painting Project #1 – Labhraim Le Stráinséirí explores mark-making, movement, and meaning through an improvised approach to painting, writing, and drawing. A painter, poet, and performer, Aodán McCardle’s work captures the energy of action and uncertainty, revealing creativity as something raw, immediate, and alive.
A co-editor at Veer Books and published author, McCardle brings a distinctive blend of physicality, language, and intuition to his art. His practice spans improvised performance, writing, and drawing – where gesture, doubt, and presence become central to the articulation of meaning. His PhD, Action as Articulation of the Contemporary Poem, examines how physicality and uncertainty form both the site and stance of creative inquiry.
McCardle’s first performance in Ireland, Abair: ainmnigh glór Ciall (An Gailearaí, Gweedore, 2011), explored the Gaeltacht’s place within the contemporary art world through projection, sound, and live drawing/writing – immersing the body within language and environment. His later performances include My Hands are Sore (Beton7, Athens), where writing became drawing and the body became instrument; and the performative lecture Tattoo Conversation (Performance Philosophy Centre, University of Surrey, 2016), in which tattooing enacted a physical dialogue between writing, thinking, and embodiment.
A former member of LUC (London Under Construction) and the collaborative performance group Cuislí, McCardle has presented work widely across Ireland, the UK, and Europe. His publications include Shuddered and ISing (Veer Books), Small Increments (BeirBua Press), and LllOoVvee (Smithereens Press). His most recent collection, Forbid Me My Love (Veer Books), presents long-form poems and performance scores that engage with censorship, intimacy, and the sonic materiality of language.
Recent work includes Spaces for Wild Swans at the Regional Cultural Centre, contributions to Wretched Strangers, Litmus Publishing: The Lichen Edition, and Becoming-Feral (University of Wisconsin–Madison / Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). His critical writing has appeared in Shearsman (A Line of Tiny Zeros in the Fabric, on Maurice Scully), Crater Press (Hilson Hilson, on Jeff Hilson), Enclave Review (on Stephen Mooney), and Channel (short fiction, Issue 10).
McCardle is currently Writer in Residence at Blood + Honey Journal, Texas. He was born in the mountains, moved to the city, and now lives by the sea.
