Self Portrait as Tom Crean

Self Portrait as Tom Crean after discovering the wreck of the Endurance washed up behind a wall on Raleigh Row, Galway

This is a work in progress and will most likely consist of two diptychs in its final manifestation. The idea for the piece came after discovering a structure erected behind a wall on Raleigh Row, a back street in Galway’s west side, to hold up some overhead wires. I immediately thought of the iconic photograph of the wreck of the Endurance. I then started to ask why I thought of that wreck specifically, and how much region and place had a roll to play in this association. This inquiry progressed to questions of what roll do iconic historical figures play in local identity. Do people remember these old figures? These old images?