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‘Are We There Yet?’

Elizabeth O’Farrelly

Profile picture of Elizabeth O’Farrelly

Elizabeth O'Farrelly is a London-based artist who has a multi-media practice, having studied BA (Hons) Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts and completed a Foundation diploma in Animation at Camberwell College of Arts.

Her practice spans painting, 2D and 3D animation, sculpture, installation and miniature model making and she uses these mediums to explore ideas of memory, nostalgia and home. These concepts arise in the mural, 'The Gift of Life' that she and three, fellow students designed for King's College Hospital and also in her work created at her recent residency at the Wimbledon Museum.

Elizabeth O'Farrelly is a London-based artist who has a multi-media practice, having studied BA (...

What happens to memories when the places in which they occurred are changed or no longer exist? How can you cling to them when the physical marks they have left are written over?

Through ‘Are We There Yet’ my childhood memories are given permanence. I created nine miniature renditions of the places that were cornerstones in my childhood but are no longer reachable. Places that no longer exist or have been refurbished and changed. 

Made from polymer clay, paper and balsa wood, places such as the Pizza Express my family had birthdays in, the wendy house we had in our garden and the duck pond we’d frequently drive past will remain unchanged in miniature, allowing my memories and these places to be preserved forever, no matter what happens to the place in reality.

Each miniature is presented on an insurmountable grass mound, (made from cardboard and static grass), representing the distant feeling of childhood memories and the inability to physically reexperience them, whilst also giving each miniature safety through isolation. 

Final work

  • Miniature model of a Toys R Us, made from polymer clay and complete with aisles of shelves
  • Miniature model of a climbing frame with three slides, one red, one blue, one yellow.
  • Miniature model of Pizza Express Wallington, conisting of a brick building with a red tile roof made from polymer clay, placed on a grass mound.

  • A miniature model of a person in a red jumper, blue jeans and black boots waiting at a miniature bus stop.
  • A miniature model of a duck pond with a bridge across it. A duck is situated in the middle of the pond.
  • A miniature model of a wendy house with red doors and window shutters, a green roof and yellow walls. The model is placed on a grass mound made from c
A photo o my installation of twelve grass mounds made from cardboard and static grass. On top of nine of the mounds are miniatures.

Research and process

  • 11 cylindrical structures made from cardboard
  • Ten cylindrical cardboard structures with domed tops. The structures have been painted white.
  • The process of making a miniature bus stop and adhering the clear side panels.
  • The process of making a miniature Pizza Express, sticking down the front panel. The miniature is made from polymer clay
  • The process of stacking miniature shelves with toy boxes. The shelf goes inside a miniature model of Toys R Us.

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‘Are We There Yet?’

What happens to memories when the places in which they occurred are changed or no longer exist? How can you cling to them when the physical marks they have left are written over?Through ‘Are We There Yet’ my childhood memories are given permanence. I created nine miniat...

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