In this exhibition of 30 paintings, I wanted to find out what makes Belfast, Belfast. Is it

actually distinct from anywhere else in Britain and Ireland? Architecturally it’s not

particularly noteworthy so it has to be the people that make Belfast the city it is. I was

going to call this exhibition ‘Belfast, Ginger and Proud’ as the cliched view of red headed

people sums up the essence of the city- pale, awkward, fiery, funny, foul mouthed and

friendly, Belfast people are different from anywhere else.

I have used this exhibition to ask multiple questions. Would an art loving Nationalist buy

a painting of Flute Bands marching and would a Unionist buy a painting of an Irish Music

Bar scene? Are both communities exactly the same but just wear different scarves? How

can we in Ulster relate so deeply with the Israeli and Palestinian people but can’t

empathise with Ethiopians fleeing conflict? Are we insular or outward looking or both

when it suits us? Are we all bigots?

At the core of all my work is community and the massive role it plays in peoples

everyday well being and happiness. I paint the ordinary and in focusing on it try to find

the extraordinary. Everyday mundane moments are stripped back to expose the poetic

and magical. I hope!