Docherty Star Of NI Art Exhibition

Willie Doherty may not consider himself a "professional Derry person", but growing up in Northern Ireland's second city has had a considerable influence on his art, the BBC reports. Since first coming to prominence in 1985, Doherty has gone on to become one of Northern Ireland's most successful artists. He was nominated for the Turner Art Prize in 1994 and 2003 and also represented Northern Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2007, an event which is billed as the world's most prestigious visual art festival.
Ghost Story, the work he created for the festival, is going on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast for the first time this Friday as part of their exhibition of contemporary Irish art. Doherty has also been asked to curate a series of films for the Queen's Film Theatre to coincide with the exhibition. Born in Derry in 1959, there is no doubt that growing up in a city he describes as being "constantly under surveillance" has had an effect on the work he produces. "I grew up in Derry and certainly at that point in the 70s and 80s we had a level of surveillance that wasn't experienced elsewhere. "I was trying to make work from the perspective of someone who lives there. So for me, the daily grind of the place, the continual presence of surveillance was part of the landscape." Doherty's piece entitled Re-run was nominated for the Turner Art Prize. The centrepiece of the Ulster Museum's Visions exhibition is Doherty's work, Ghost Story. It has been described as a study of Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement and is said to challenge the political desire to bury the past.For full source and full article click the Headline).
Irish Art