The vast Fairgreen Gallery space in the centre of Galway provides the opportunity to bring together a series of colossal paintings, none of which have been shown in Ireland before. The visceral, physical and painterly qualities of these works are shown to great effect in those venue with its great height and abundance of natural light.
The paintings reference history and myth and include the 6 metres tall Tomb of the Diver as well as Porces and Chariboea, a painting originally begun in Italy in 1986 and, after many transformations, completed in the artist's studio in Ireland in 2003. The bulk of the work, however, is connected in a direct way to this place and the here and now with the recurring motif of the rusting wreck of The Plassy which is beached on the Island of Inis Oírr. This is an image that has repeatedly occured in the artists work over many years and in many different guises. In these paintings the wreck has been re-floated and appears as a ghostly image seen from the sea itself. An exhibition of smaller related paintings can be seen at Áras Éanna Centre, Inis Oírr, a short walk from the wreck of The Plassy