Mysterious spirits, Whimsical oddities, Eerie entities.

Mysterious spirits, Whimsical oddities, Eerie entities.

“My artwork is heavily influenced by my time spent living in Japan, The artists who kindly shared their time with me there and the writings of Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo).

During my years in Japan, I became fascinated by Japanese folklore and ghost stories. Tales of Yōkai ( Supernatural entities), Bakemono (Strange creatures) and Yūrei (Ghostly apparitions).

A captivating world of Shapeshifters, ghosts and tricksters. Struck by the similarities to Irish folklore and ghostly tales, I felt inspired and compelled to embark on an artist journey to explore the parallels between Irish and Japanese folklore”

- Gemma Doherty


Close-up of a colorful artwork featuring a white cat with repeating skull markings next to another blurred artwork

Artworks

Deeply rooted in their identities as island nations, Ireland and Japan share striking folkloric parallels. Despite being thousands of miles apart, both traditions share similar themes in their cultural story telling. From tales of shape shifting creatures and sea legends to the thinning of the veil where ancient trees, mountains and sacred mounds are seen as thresholds to the otherworld.

Where real world events could not be explained through logic or science, Both Ireland and Japan use curiously similar themes in response to making sense of the unpredictability of nature and the mysteries of the unknown.

This series of artworks centers around themes of Dual/hidden identity, metamorphosis,animism and the unexplainable.

Colorful artwork featuring a stylized red fox surrounded by red maple leaves, a fan, and vibrant background elements.

Kitsune onna (Fox woman/ Bean na sionnach)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 30cm x 24cm.

A painting of a white cat with skull pattern markings, surrounded by peonies.

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Dokuroneko (Skull cat/ Cloiginn Cat)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 24cm x 18cm.

Colorful traditional Japanese-style painting of an anthropomorphic fox in kimono surrounded by flames, seated with paws near chin.

Kitsunebi (Fox fire/ Tine shionnaigh)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 30cm x 24cm.

A painting of a Japanese Yokai with a stylized face, black hair, and a long neck with peony tattoo.
A painting of a Japanese Yokai with a stylized face, black hair, and a long neck with peony tattoo.

Rokurokubi (Pulley Neck/ Muineál sínte)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 30cm x 24cm.

Colorful artwork of a white fox mask with red markings, surrounded by cherry blossoms and gakurbori background elements, framed in black on a wooden surface.

Byakko (White fox mask/ Masc sionnaigh bháin)

Acrylic gouache on canvas

A colorful painting of a koi fish swimming in vibrant blue waves, framed and displayed on a dark surface.

Kingyo (Golden Fish/ iasc órga)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 24cm x 18cm

Framed artwork of a peony flower with a green eye in its center, placed on a wooden surface.

Botan no me (Eye of the Peony / súil na bpeon)

Acrylic Gouache on black paper

A framed artwork of a Rokurokubi, with tongue sticking out covered in golden oil, against a black background.

Natane-abura o nomu (Drinking oil /ag ól ola)

Mixed media pencil and acrylic gouache on black paper

A colorful illustration of a roccon dog wearing a pink kimono with a geometric pattern, sitting beneath red, yellow, and orange maple leaves, with a background of beige paper.

Itazura tanuki(Trickster racoon/ Racúnmhadra mealltach) Acrylic gouache on naturel paper

Close-up of a decorative Japanese dragon artwork on a circular canvas, featuring a black, gray, and gold dragon with bright yellow eyes, clouds, and orange accents.

Ryū (Dragon/Dragún)

Acrylic gouache on canvas 20cm across.

Framed artwork of a white fox mask with red and black markings, surrounded by cherry blossoms and gold bells, on a brown background.

kitsune men ( Fox mask/ masc sionnaigh)

Acrylic gouache on paper

Close-up of a framed artwork featuring a detailed, nogitsune with red eyes, set against a background with golden maple leaves, placed on a wooden surface.
Close-up of a framed artwork featuring a detailed, nogitsune with red eyes, set against a background with golden maple leaves, placed on a wooden surface.

Nogitsune ( Ghost fox/ Púca sionnaigh)

Mixed media pencil and acrylic gouache on black paper

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