Born in 1988 in London, I received my BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
I’m a visual artist and art director living and working in London.
Exploring the intersection between the digital and the tangible, I create sculpture, installation and web-projects that critically reflect on technology’s increasing application and the role of the artist.
Winning the NOVA Award granted me the opportunity to pursue my practice in the challenging first years out of University. It gave me the confidence and the release of any financial pressure to pursue and challenge my own practice.
In the first years after university you're still figuring out what your practice is. To me that has been one of constant refinement and development, particularly as your interest and focus might shift or change over time.
Reference: MCATEER001
Title: SunriseSunsetSunriseSunset
Date: 2017
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: The sun’s position is tracked across the browser in relation to the user’s cursor movement
Media: Website
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Description: SunriseSunsetSunriseSunset reflects on the growth in leisure time we collectively spend in front of the digital screen, further away from the real world and our own physical experiences. The 100 most downloaded google results for ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ desktop-wallpaper images have been processed via a digital programme. The sun’s position is tracked across the browser in relation to the user’s cursor movement.
Reference: MCATEER013
Title: SunriseSunsetSunriseSunset [Code]
Date: 2017
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Screenshot of the backend development
Media: Code [image of]
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Description: SunriseSunsetSunriseSunset reflects on the growth in leisure time we collectively spend in front of the digital screen, further away from the real world and our own physical experiences. The 100 most downloaded google results for ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ desktop-wallpaper images have been processed via a digital programme. The sun’s position is tracked across the browser in relation to the user’s cursor movement.
Reference: MCATEER002
Title: Thanks, But No Thanks
Date: 2018
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Thanks, But No Thanks is an archive of digital responses regarding unsuccessful applications, interviews, and proposals delivered to the artist, displayed via a seemingly unending series of pop-up windows.
Media: Website
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Description: Devoid of context, the focus is placed on the common language used in these correspondences, inviting us to explore an often undisclosed aspect of the creative process.
Reference: MCATEER012
Title: Thanks, But No Thanks [Code]
Date: 2018
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Screenshot of the backend development
Media: Code [image of]
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Description: Thanks, But No Thanks is an archive of digital responses regarding unsuccessful applications, interviews, and proposals delivered to the artist, displayed via a seemingly unending series of pop-up windows. Devoid of context, the focus is placed on the common language used in these correspondences, inviting us to explore an often undisclosed aspect of the creative process.
Reference: MCATEER003
Title: Last Seen At
Date: 2017
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Last Seen At is a continuous live stream of the artist's WhatsApp status in real time.
Media: Website
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Description: Ignored, blocked, ghosted: messenger application features designed to ease our communications are increasingly the causation for inner turmoil. New technologies which grant us with greater opportunities than ever to connect are increasingly putting strain on trust within our relationships both online and offline.
Last Seen At reflects on our privacy within these contemporary networks and the behaviours we unwillingly adopt in a culture quickly adapting to these new technologies.
Reference: MCATEER005
Title: ACAVA Vyner Street Studios
Date: 2012
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Studios on the canal in Bethnal Green. 22 studios situated above one of Vyner Street’s many contemporary gallery spaces.
Media: Image
Credit: acava.org/vyner-street-studios
Description: My first studio after graduating that really helped me get to grips with making and developing work outside of the framework provided by University. Funded as part of a residency provided by ArtQuest, it was a fantastic space to allow me to test and create new work.
Reference: MCATEER006
Title: Learn To Code Now
Date: 2016
Author: Rik Lomas, Super Hi
Details: Covering everything a creative person would need to know when learning to code with HTML, CSS + Javascript – the building blocks of web design.
Media: Publication
Credit: superhi.com/learn-to-code-now
Description: A great textbook which gave me a good technical foundation to start utilising the web as a platform to make and present work. Probably one of the most influential decisions I made within the development of my practice.
Reference: MCATEER007
Title: Working On My Novel
Date: 2014
Author: Cory Arcangel
Details: Working On My Novel is a book which is based on a twitter feed that re-tweets the best posts featuring the phrase "working on my novel."
Media: Publication
Credit: novel.coryarcangel.com
Description: Technically not a text, but an artwork. Originally hosted on the platform Twitter Arcangel’s piece retweeted posts where people would share that they were ‘working on their novel’. The tweets were latterly published physically as a book. It’s one of those works that refers beautifully to the act of creation. It’s a work I wish I made myself and inspired me ever since.
Curation Reference: MCATEER011
Title: Technologies on Humanity
Date: 2020
Author: Conall McAteer
Details: Written reflection
Media: Quote [written]
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.
Description: The most successful projects critically reflect on these hidden power structures and the effect technologies have on humanity.
Reference: MCATEER008
Title: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Date: 1993
Author: Tim Berners-Lee
Details: The HyperText Markup Language, or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScript.
Media: Web Languages
Credit: w3schools.com/html
Description: I’ve always been hands-on with the work I make and excited by the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to produce work in different mediums, be it physical or digital. Five years ago I began to teach myself HTML, CSS and branching into Javascript. As I began to make more work that dealt with the context of the web, creative coding felt like a very natural progression.
Reference: MCATEER009
Title: Yo-yo Criticism
Date: 2014
Author: Ryan Gander
Details: Commissioned Adidas Originals Trainers
Media: Fashion item
Credit: ryanganderarchive.com
Description: Technically an image that inspired my work is this image, of a real thing, but I’ve only ever seen a picture of them. They are a pair of Adidas trainers produced in collaboration with one of my favourite artists, Ryan Gander. They are a brand new pair designed to look like they have been made to walk through mud. It really inspired me to look beyond the gallery for the role and purpose of the artist and the place for conceptual art.
Reference: MCATEER010
Title: Solitaire.exe
Date: 2012
Author: Evan Roth
Details: Solitaire.exe is a physical pixel-for-pixel recreation of the popular computer card game included in the Windows 98 operating system.
Media: Playing Card
Credit: evan-roth.com/solitaire-exe
Description: A physical manifestation of the solitaire card game on Windows 98. I’m interested in how something can move from the digital space to the real and visa versa. A process summed up really simply and beautifully by this deck of playing cards.