A Tale of Two Cities 2022, canvas, acrylic, collage, gold & silver leaf, 190 x 300cm
​
Since showing work at Tate Liverpool in 2019 and having some time to explore the city, meet people and make connections here, I have thought a lot about the similarities and differences, the shared history and mirrored perspectives of Dublin and Liverpool. In these panels, the cities, their rivers, architecture, cultures and histories face each other.
 
There is a porous boundary and stories that need telling.
 
Nature however, moves to and fro, birds, fish and seals fly, swim and breed between the coastlines, these migrations do not ask permission and do not discriminate it is the ebb and flow of a shared ecology. The mix of peoples, communities and cultures born of empire and exploitation is now the lifeblood of these cities and their hinterlands.

As I finalise work for my solo show Arrivals/Departures at the VG&M which will open on 30 July and end on 23 December, I reflect on the many changes in our world since the exhibition was arranged. This has been happening on a global level but also on an intensely personal one and we need to be kind to one another above all else. I am blessed to be working with a great team of people and an institution that has an inclusive an visionary approach. Here is 'Lifeboat' one of the seven 3D artworks which was scanned by the amazing Photogrammetry Team there. These 3D scans are being transformed into AR pop ups which will be accessible at locations all around the city. 

Lifeboat, 2022 mixed media, 80x78x66cm 
​
Photo credit Glyn Jones