Etched: UCC Dental Student First Solo Exhibition on Ageing, Motherhood and Change Ending Soon

1 Nov 2026

Through portraiture, lithography and biological symbolism, Etched presents change as life’s only true constant. The exhibition is on view at The Jennings Gallery, UCC, until 15 November.

Etched is the first solo exhibition in Ireland by visual artist Adelina Billur, running from 17 September to 15 November at The Jennings Gallery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, UCC. The show takes change as “the only true constant in life: imperfect, permanent, and ongoing.”

It brings together two series. The first pairs realistic portraits of strangers with ornate lithographs, exploring how repeated expressions transform the face over time. It is a study of irreversible progression, with every pattern evoking a sense of continuity. The second is a personal body of work on her mother’s experience of early motherhood, told through biological symbolism.

About the artist
Adelina Billur is a fourth-year dental surgery student at University College Cork and a largely self-taught visual artist working in painting, drawing and lithography. She earned a “Top in the World” ranking in Cambridge O Level Art. Her practice spans realism and naturalistic surrealism, the latter built on symmetry and biological metaphor. She holds a degree in Visual Arts and Biology from the University of British Columbia, where she learned lithography.