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Effigies
Psychiatrists often use dolls to re-enact scenes of trauma when they treat their patients.
My �Effigy� paintings address the trauma our culture is experiencing as a result of the unfulfilled promises of
the people we trust. I reflect an increasing Worldview of mistrust with what�s happening politically,
economically and environmentally; I grew up in 1960s Ireland believing that everyone deserves a
comfortable home in which to live without the fear of foreclosure, that our savings, our food and water were
safe, that terrorism comes in many forms and that it is sometimes delivered with a sincere smile.
The expressions of statues and dolls and sculptures, inspired by photographs I�ve taken from all over the
World, mirror how I feel. Their surprised giddy fried expressions address a Universal uncertain hope for the
future. They reflect the darker side of contemporary Western culture where our thin veneer of comfort is
threatened. As such my work is cautionary and introspective.
I am a collector; for some strange reason I collect many things.
And some of the things I collect inspire me to paint.
Effigy 1
Acrylic on canvas
80 x 60 inches
2008
Click on the thumbnails below to see more Effigies
