War Paint
Oil on Canvas, 45x45 cm.
Exhibited in Lavit Gallery Summer Exhibition 2023. Selected for Cairde Visual Arts Festival 2024
Every year we gather for Pride to protest and every year we become a little tougher and a little more resilient. It’s an annual call to duty. Although this is not where the majority of battle ensues, it’s the other 364 days around it.
It is exhausting, something queer people have become accustomed to sadly. Pride in recent years has become more of a celebration of our annual fight and it’s the one day where we can go out and truly be ourselves.
While some of us are built to be activists or generals to keep with the metaphor, some of us have fought just to keep ourselves alive. A worthy enough battle in of itself. Some of us can just about slap on the war paint, light a fag and enjoy the day out with those closest to us, before heading to the frontlines again in a few hours.
Inhale
Oil on Canvas, 30x25 cm. Sold to Private Collection
"Remember this moment.
It's all you'll have to hold onto
when the reality of things returns.
Of that you can be certain.
Inhale,
feel the warmth of the sun on your skin,
listen to the sound of the drums beating
in solidarity. This is joy?
Exhale..."
In between a place to be and where we are I
Oil and Mix Media on Board, 90X90 cm.
Selected for RHA 193rd Annual Exhibition.
In between a place to be and where we are II
Oil and Mix Media on Board, 90X90 cm.
This body of work was inspired by the LGBTQ+ community in Cork, specifically members of the Gay Project and LINC. The paintings feature individuals from both groups engaging with one another in built safe spaces. Recent events in Ireland have reminded us how far we still have to go as a society and how important these spaces are to the queer community. We require these spaces to share our experiences, bond, heal and find our families. By developing this body of work in a public space such as this, it mirrors the level of vulnerability we feel existing as ourselves walking the streets. Yet we will continue to strive, we will continue to push forward unapologetically and establish our identities and broaden our safe spaces until they encompass the streets we once feared to walk.
Created during Cork Pride Residency.
