Maud Gonne
Concentrating on the themes of courage, determination and fearlessness, I have created a collection of drawings of Irish Patriot, Maud Gonne. While my subject matter is firmly rooted in the past, my handling of composition and materials is contemporary. I endeavour to re-ignite my subject and present a new visual experience in contrast to the familiar historical images I work from.
Artist and writer John Maher who first saw the drawings at the RDS in July 2013 has observed of the Maud Gonne collection:
‘Looking at these works we may contemplate a new canon for today – that idealistic trends of revolution and agitation, speaking as they do here through a compelling portrait of Maud Gonne and reflecting upon Gonne’s association with W.B,Yeats, especially now in current reality, seem an excellent means of social expression beyond the photograph for directing the eye away from nihilism towards the poetic, towards art as the pursuit of new awareness.’
JOHN MAHER 12.3.2014.
