‘In Her Hands’ Ellen Hutchins Art Installation

A site specific installation created by artist Tina Whelan for the Ellen Hutchins Festival 2026.

The work features the cast hands of a young female Irish botanist, who stands in Ellen’s place and is of a similar age to Ellen when she died at 29. The cast hands are housed in an illuminated ‘infinity box’, placed on a plinth. The installation highlights the new species of seaweeds, mosses and liverworts Ellen found in the area around Bantry Bay in her short life ‘botanising’. It creates a direct dialogue with the tangible and intangible legacy of Ellen Hutchins, reimagined through a contemporary lens, to link past and present.

In the shop window of Vincents on New Street, Bantry P75 KX94. Available all hours, free.

See four other shop windows with Ellen related displays - in New Street and Marino Street, Bantry.

For information on all Ellen Hutchins Festival events in Heritage Week see: ellenhutchins.com/event-listings-2/