This spring, I was invited to create a new artwork for an atrium exhibition at the Guinness Storehouse as part of the Minaw Collective.

It felt like a really special opportunity and something I didn’t take lightly, to bring my work into a space that holds so much history, energy and cultural presence. There’s a real weight to a place like that, not in a heavy way, but in the sense that it already carries so many stories, both from here in Ireland and far beyond it.

I found myself thinking about how to let my own visual language meet that space, how the piece could sit within it, respond to it and become part of that creativity and experience.

It was my first time visiting the Storehouse and I went with my husband. I was genuinely surprised by how busy it was, there was such a buzz to the place, full of energy, movement and people from all over the world.

Later, I learned that it’s actually Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction, which suddenly made complete sense. There’s a feeling of something much bigger than itself happening inside the building , a kind of cultural current flowing through it.

As we moved through the space, I found myself slightly overwhelmed at times, in a good way, by the sheer scale and spectacle of it all. Seven floors rise around a vast glass atrium, industrial beams intersect overhead, with tall glass lifts and revolving escalators going up and down as colored light pours down from above from its stained glass ceiling.

Something that really stood out to me was the world of Guinness advertising, particularly the playful illustrated animals from John Gilroy’s campaigns of the 1930s and 40s, including the iconic Guinness toucan.
There’s something so distinctive about those vintage poster-style illustrations, with their bold colours, simple compositions and sense of humour. The animals form a kind of whimsical menagerie, full of character and charm, each one carrying its own quirky personality while still feeling part of a cohesive visual world.
There’s also something quite moving in seeing an artist’s work live on in this way, carried forward through a brand, continuing to exist long beyond their lifetime. It feels like a kind of visual thread back into the past, offering a glimpse into the early identity and personality of Guinness as it was being shaped.

Printed Pint — There were also unexpected moments of randomness, like having our photo printed onto the foam of a pint, which felt both surreal and strangely magical.

At one point, we came across Irish dancers performing in one of the bars, a familiar expression of Irish pub culture that has travelled far beyond the country itself. It felt like stepping into something many visitors come expecting to experience, a living version of tradition within a contemporary space.

All of these different impressions stayed with me as I developed my piece.

I wanted to find a way to respond to the building not just as architecture, but as something alive something theatrical, layered and full of personality and movement

For this exhibition, I created a character that embodies the Storehouse itself, a magical, carnival-like figure infused with a whimsical Irish fairy spirit and industrial history.

*My finished illustration ‘It All Flows from Here’ 2026, Digital Art (Software: Procreate, hardware: iPad Pro 13, apple pencil pro)*

Her iron crinoline skirt became central to the idea. Inspired by the exposed steel beams and the copper brewing chambers within the building, it takes on a dollhouse-like microcosm form, holding a miniature, dreamlike version of the Storehouse within it.

A structure that becomes both costume and environment.

There’s also a subtle influence of steampunk running through the piece that blending of industrial form with decorative, almost theatrical design. It felt like a natural alignment with the building itself, where elements of the Industrial Revolution sit alongside a kind of romanticised storytelling of craft, invention and spectacle.

Within the skirt are small references and impressions drawn from my visit, fragments of space, atmosphere and experience juxtaposed together into something slightly surreal. The glowing brewing chambers, the layered floors, the movement of people rising through the atrium, all of it finding its way into this contained world.

The figure herself carries the sense of spectacle I experienced throughout the building. Her pose draws from the energy of Irish dance, while behind her the city shifts gently from day to night, inspired by the view across Dublin from the Gravity Bar.

There’s a feeling of celebration running through the piece, of music, movement and gathering, reflecting the atmosphere of the space itself, where history, performance and contemporary culture all meet.

Flowing outward from her, ribbons of colour and Celtic pattern carry that sense of movement beyond the figure, suggesting something that doesn’t stay contained, but continues to travel, much like the culture and creativity that the Storehouse represents.

*Rework: After & Before*

As part of this commission process, I was asked to revisit the face of the character, as her expression, with my signature anime-inspired, wide-eyed style, was reading quite young in this context.
Working within Diageo’s advertising guidelines, which require that individuals depicted in alcohol-related imagery appear clearly over the legal drinking age, was a new experience for me and brought a different level of awareness to the process and my own visual expression.
Looking at the two versions side by side, I became very aware of how much those small details shape how a character is perceived. I made a series of subtle adjustments, reducing the size of the eyes, elongating and refining the button nose, and lengthening the face to move away from that rounder, more youthful quality.

It became a delicate balance between maintaining my visual language and responding to the responsibility of the context the piece would live within. In the end, it felt less like changing her and more like allowing her to settle into a new version of herself that felt both true to my work and at home in the world of the Storehouse.

The exhibition launched on March 10th 2026 as part of the St. Patrick’s Festival under the theme “It All Flows From Here.”

Twelve Minaw artists have contributed to a suspended gallery within the atrium, with works placed across different levels of the building, creating a layered visual journey as visitors move through the space.

The exhibition will remain on display until September 2026 as part of the Storehouse visitor experience.

There’s something very special about seeing a piece of work move from imagination into a real, physical space, especially one so full of history, energy and meaning.

To be part of that, even in a small way, feels like stepping into an ongoing story.

To be there alongside the Minaw Collective made that feeling even more real, such a special group of artists, each bringing their own voice and becoming part of that story together.

Please do not share with anyone under the legal drinking age. Drink responsibly.

Learn more at the Guinness Storehouse