EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO INDIVIDUAL VICTIMS OF OMAGH BOMBING
Exhibition dedicated to individual victims of Omagh bombing
BY JOHN MCCUSKER
AN exhibition of paintings dedicated to the individual lives lost in the Omagh bombing will open in a gallery situated just yards from the site of the explosion which claimed 31 victims.
Entitled The Summer of 98, the exhibition by award-winning artist Ray Duncan contains a number of paintings commemorating those who died in Omagh and the Quinn children who died in July of that year when their home was set alight in Ballymoney.
The artist, Ray Duncan, from Belfast, is a lecturer in Art and Design at Castlereagh College of Further and Higher Education. His Summer of '98 exhibition has previously been shown in Belfast, Castlereagh College and Benburb Priory.
The exhibition is a selection of works created over a two year period.
The artist explains, "At first I was driven by a sense of anger about the murder of the Quinn children and the slaughter in Omagh.
"Now, I hope that the work will be seen as a commemoration for the individual lives that were lost."
The exhibition will be hosted in the Tourist Information Centre in Market Street just yards from where the car bomb exploded on August 15,1998 causing widespread carnage and loss of life.
The work commemorating those who died in the explosion is depicted in three large canvasses measuring 24' by 6'.
The central canvass shows a street scene with people going about their daily business on a sunny summers afternoon. The two other panels - produced in black and white - portray the startling images in the aftermath of the explosion.
VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs published in papers in the wake of the murder of the Quinn children provided the initial impetus for the paintings. Similarly, pictures published following the Omagh bombing also provided inspiration for Mr Duncan's work on these exhibits.
"After the Omagh explosion I started collecting press cuttings covering the events.
"The photographic still images taken from a home video made on the day and used in the press give a sense of detachment, of unreality to the loss of life so often portrayed.
"By the use of paint, change of scale and retaining the fractured quality of the images, the realist of the events seem to return and I would hope to remind the spectator of the inhumanity of it all."
The 'Troubles' have provided a backdrop to much of Mr Duncan's works over the years.
"The first paintings I did on the theme was of a young girl tarred and feathered after she had fallen in love with a soldier. After that there were many others depicting similar images down through the years.
"The last painting I did on the theme of the Troubles was the Omagh canvass," the artist added.
The Summer of '98 exhibition will be open for public viewing at the Tourist Information Centre, Omagh from Tuesday, Nov 6 until Friday, November 26 from 9am to 5pm (except Saturdays and Sundays)
BY JOHN MCCUSKER
AN exhibition of paintings dedicated to the individual lives lost in the Omagh bombing will open in a gallery situated just yards from the site of the explosion which claimed 31 victims.
Entitled The Summer of 98, the exhibition by award-winning artist Ray Duncan contains a number of paintings commemorating those who died in Omagh and the Quinn children who died in July of that year when their home was set alight in Ballymoney.
The artist, Ray Duncan, from Belfast, is a lecturer in Art and Design at Castlereagh College of Further and Higher Education. His Summer of '98 exhibition has previously been shown in Belfast, Castlereagh College and Benburb Priory.
The exhibition is a selection of works created over a two year period.
The artist explains, "At first I was driven by a sense of anger about the murder of the Quinn children and the slaughter in Omagh.
"Now, I hope that the work will be seen as a commemoration for the individual lives that were lost."
The exhibition will be hosted in the Tourist Information Centre in Market Street just yards from where the car bomb exploded on August 15,1998 causing widespread carnage and loss of life.
The work commemorating those who died in the explosion is depicted in three large canvasses measuring 24' by 6'.
The central canvass shows a street scene with people going about their daily business on a sunny summers afternoon. The two other panels - produced in black and white - portray the startling images in the aftermath of the explosion.
VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs published in papers in the wake of the murder of the Quinn children provided the initial impetus for the paintings. Similarly, pictures published following the Omagh bombing also provided inspiration for Mr Duncan's work on these exhibits.
"After the Omagh explosion I started collecting press cuttings covering the events.
"The photographic still images taken from a home video made on the day and used in the press give a sense of detachment, of unreality to the loss of life so often portrayed.
"By the use of paint, change of scale and retaining the fractured quality of the images, the realist of the events seem to return and I would hope to remind the spectator of the inhumanity of it all."
The 'Troubles' have provided a backdrop to much of Mr Duncan's works over the years.
"The first paintings I did on the theme was of a young girl tarred and feathered after she had fallen in love with a soldier. After that there were many others depicting similar images down through the years.
"The last painting I did on the theme of the Troubles was the Omagh canvass," the artist added.
The Summer of '98 exhibition will be open for public viewing at the Tourist Information Centre, Omagh from Tuesday, Nov 6 until Friday, November 26 from 9am to 5pm (except Saturdays and Sundays)
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1792
Published Date: 11-Nov-04
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