Kevin Mooney’s new exhibition, Fragments of San Borondon, gathers together artefacts from the little known, tiny Caribbean island of San Borondon. Currently uninhabited, the island was, in the 17th and 18th centuries, home to a rich Hiberno/African/Caribbean culture. This exhibition continues to explore the artist’s interest in myth, cultural migration and an alternative art history.
Artist’s Statement
My parents were part of the mass exodus from Ireland in the 1950s, returning decades later. This background of emigration, and my early experiences as a UK born Irish person growing up in Ireland, has informed my painting practice. As a child, I was partly excluded from a “real” Irish identity as a result of this family history. This allowed me to develop an “outsider” understanding of Irishness.
Rooted in mythology and a semi-fictitious Irish art history, my practice is culturally specific. A key influence has been part of the last generation to experience a living oral tradition. This has been crucial in developing my work, which can be read as the abstraction of Irish folklore as seen through a contemporary lens.
More on Wed 9 Oct |
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