Artwork by Lorraine Whelan . . .
Memory Is My Homeland
In a time of huge worldwide crises in homelessness caused by civil unrest,
war, and economic disaster, the concept of "home" is poignant. From a
medical point of view, an ageing population and the proliferation of heartbreaking
diseases, such as Alzheimer's, makes one acutely aware of the tenuousness
of memory.
I began this body of work, as I began my life - living at the house with
the red door from 0-2 years old, and the house with the green door from
2-4 years old. In other works in this series I draw upon specific memories
that are story-like.
Further images from this body of work can be seen on the Memory
Is My Homeland printmaking page.
Image Details
- The House with the Red Door, 2019, oilstick & graphite on wood, 23 cm x 15.5 cm
- The House with the Green Door, 2019, oilstick & graphite on wood, 23 cm x 15.5 cm
- Kingswood, 2019, acrylic on pressed cloth, approx 228 cm x 200 cm
- Sketch for Kingswood, 2019, pencil & watercolour, 48 cm x 42 cm
- Kingston Road: Waiting, 2021, acrylic on pressed cloth, 76 cm x 102 cm
- Florence Road: Butterfly Wall, 2021, acrylic on pressed cloth, 60 cm x 75 cm
- Knockeen, 2021, acrylic on pressed cloth, approx 228 cm x 200 cm
- sketch for Knockeen, 2020, pencil & watercolour on paper, 48 cm x 42 cm
Artist Statement / Bio
I was born in Toronto, Canada into a large Irish immigrant family. Shortly after obtaining my primary degree in 1986, I moved to Ireland to where my parents and half my siblings had already returned.
My writing (poetry, art criticism & commentary, fiction, non-fiction) has been published in Ireland, Canada, USA, Luxembourg & online.
I have exhibited my artwork throughout Ireland in both solo and group exhibitions and have exhibited in group exhibitions in France, China and Canada. I have participated in artist residencies and symposia and my work is included in private (US, Canada, Australia, UK & Belgium) and in public/corporate collections (Microsoft WPGI, OPW, HSE, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Europol & IBM).
For over 30 years I have created bodies of work that are inspired and challenged by my environment and circumstances, which are regularly in flux. The study and analysis of dreams plays a large part in much of my work and the development of dream imagery informs the iconography used in both visual and verbal work.
I have worked on projects in response to a specific brief, site, concept, or combination of these. I am fascinated with the immediacy of temporary work yet equally interested in archives and permanence. While I consider myself primarily a painter, I love to experience and experiment with any manner of media. I freely use any media to suit an idea, which is the paramount consideration.
I believe that it is through the expression of individual responses to life circumstances that wider truths can be discovered and understood.
I am an artist. I am here. I remember. I draw. I write. I tell stories.