Fiona Cahill an artist, activist and carer living in South Yorkshire. From a line of  Irish single mothers her work explores institutional abuse, politics, grief and the power of the natural world to overcome separation and containment. These pages are dedicated to ‘Rendition’; curating and touring her own work, her personal archive and activism, and introducing elements of her practise as workshops. Fiona was invited to contribute to the ‘Changing Ireland’ exhibition at The National Museum of Ireland which opened in October 2025 

Fiona is known for her innovative local community projects that provoke engagement and action. Fiona studied fine art at Doncaster Art College, specialised in weaving at Huddersfield University, and taught art, textiles and food tech in schools across Yorkshire. Regularly working with a variety of educational settings, non-profits and charities. She received a Footprint award (national food industry) and a Doncaster CVS award (local voluntary sector) for community work and innovation.

In 2025 Fiona was commissioned by local art festival Artbomb to make the first iteration of ‘Rendition’, as a month-long installation, featuring her body of work on the subject, two new sculptures, her own film, curated objects, live activism and academic talks.

Drawing on her grandmother’s, her mother’s and her own experience, she says, “The British State refuses to apologise for the deportations and for its historic treatment of unmarried mothers in general.”

“Paper documents became both treasured and traumatic items in our lives. Through enmeshment in paper making, I aim to interrupt the harms of separation and extraction they suffered, harms that are also seen in the colonised experience and in the commodification of the natural world” “Sometimes I plant seeds in my papers. Sometimes I draw on them. Subconscious, surrealist automatic drawings. They look like maps and mycelium.” “I’m world-making. Drawing connections beyond the patrilineage of a family tree. And I’m including the kinship of the natural world, too.”

“A ritualised meditative process allows me to navigate my grief and trauma. Community grieving rituals such as funerals remain unavailable for the vast majority of infants -sons, daughters, siblings -still hidden behind the walls of institutions in the UK and in Ireland. I hope that by recognising ongoing harms we can facilitate the UK apology my mum asked for and the sharing of our communal grief.”

How grief and trauma fuel uncompromising survival, and a more just world is less often seen. ‘Rendition’ provides space and opportunities to record personal histories, thoughts and feelings, and to take action.