Exhibition revisits Londonderry’s troubled past

It is open to the public until Friday, having opened on November 29, as part of the City of Culture visual arts programme for 2013.

The compelling exhibition explores the history of the Troubles and Daire’s work is both moving and powerful in its depiction of local historic events.

“The exhibition is a real milestone in my career for a number of reasons,” he said.

“It’s the first solo show I will have in Derry, which has a special place in my heart as it’s the largest city close to Buncrana where I grew up. I also attended the university for four years here before moving to study in Germany and then setting up my studio in Dublin.

“It has a sort of a homecoming feeling for me. I usually show my work in Dublin and abroad, so I’m delighted to show the work to friends and family who normally don’t see it in person. Derry itself is a poignant location to show these paintings. The city is ingrained in the work and the work is directly influenced by the history of Derry itself. Being able to show these paintings in a building that used to serve as the Bloody Sunday Trust building seems to me like it was meant to happen. The combination of all these elements will make for a very special show.”

Arts in Education advisor with the Culture Company, Noelle McAlinden, said :“Daire Irwin is an artist of considerable talent, his work is poignant and powerful and not for the faint hearted. His works are courageous in scale and subject matter, and he is an artist who references a painful past in time and history, in a space that is emotionally charged. This is an exhibition not to missed.”

Daire Irwin is originally from Buncrana, Co Donegal, but is now based in Dublin where he is currently showing in the New Living Artists show in the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art. He was recently named the youngest recipient of the Whytes award at the Annual RHA show in Dublin. Technology plays a large role in Irwin’s work and the realisation of his large scale oil paintings on canvas are constructed and enabled by utilising digital technologies.