I Come From a Small Island

I Come From a Small Island

Oil and pigment on canvas

Size: 50 x 40 x 4 cm

“I Come from a Small Island” took shape over several months, evolving organically, almost without my conscious direction. The first stage was pure texture: thick black paint applied with sponge rollers, creating sharp, jagged ‘teeth’, like some deep-sea predator. Once dry, I mixed powdered pigments into white oil paint, forming a rich, thick paste. I then forcefully applied this with my hands to the canvas – in places, it stands over one centimetre deep.

Initially, the painting’s meaning eluded me. “What the Hell Was I Thinking?” was the best, the most honest, the only title I could think of. However, living with it day after day, a truth dawned on me: this was my tangled relationship with Ireland. I was born there, raised there, yet couldn’t wait to ‘escape’ as a teenager. Landing in London for the first time, I breathed a sigh of relief: “I’m home”, I thought.

But life has a way of unfolding unexpectedly. For me. For the world. The Brexit referendum was a shock, the UK leaving the EU a profound shift. London remains my physical base, but the emotional connection, that sense of ‘home’, has faded.

Now, when I look at “I Come from a Small Island”, I see things very differently. It wasn’t Ireland I wanted to escape, it was myself. Age brings perspective, thankfully, and those feelings are long gone. Still, it’s fascinating to look at the painting now and see that subconscious struggle laid bare – a snapshot of my anxieties, both in my youth and in those turbulent post-Brexit days.

As I continue to create, I’m excited to seeing how my art will reflect my ever-evolving understanding of myself and my place in the world.