Stephen Doyle (b. 1994) The Blue Landscape
Available through The Art Library
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Size | 40cm x 60cm |
| Medium | Painting |
| Materials | Oil on canvas |
Tones of Prussian blue dominate the streetscape in Stephen Doyle’s painting which combines urban and rural scenes from Cork city and county. To the right are civic buildings, street furniture and people heading about their daily business. The left seems to be a vacant lot with a prominent fence or hoarding leading to a dense woodland beyond. White cloud formations suggest gusty movement in the skies above while the large paving slabs in the foreground have bursts of colour that echo those in the LGBTQI+ rainbow flag, evoking the significance of Grand Parade, an important thoroughfare in the city that annually hosts the Cork Pride festival.
The Blue Landscape is a reflection on life as an LGBTQI+ person in Ireland and is informed by the thoughts and commentary that emerged among a group of LGBTQI+ participants in the Glucksman’s Intersections project in 2021. Participants engaged in creative activities including collage, photography and cyanotype, which helped provide the inspiration for the aesthetic of the commissioned artwork. The colour blue suggests both sadness and hope; despair at the binary, constructed ideologies used to police issues around sexuality and gender, but also blue sky thinking and optimism for change.