Contemporary artist Anna McKeever presents a powerful new body of work inspired by one of Ireland’s most enduring mythological tales – The Children of Lir.
Comprising seven large-scale paintings, the striking collection, which explores love, loss, belonging, resilience and identity, will be on display at Gormleys Dublin until July 27th.
In the legend of The Children of Lir, four siblings are transformed into swans by their jealous stepmother, condemned to wander Ireland’s waterways for 900 years. At a time when questions of identity, migration and belonging continue to shape contemporary Ireland, The Children of Lir takes on renewed relevance.
Rather than illustrating mythology directly, McKeever uses it as a lens through which to explore contemporary questions of identity, belonging and the emotional experience of being human.
Using the emotional narrative of the swans’ journey, McKeever shines a light on what it means to be human in an increasingly uncertain world. The artist uses the image of the majestic birds in flight to explore themes of transformation, displacement and loneliness, alongside kinship, resilience and belonging.
She explains that the paintings began to take shape shortly before the birth of her daughter June, now eight months old, when the story of The Children of Lir captured her imagination.
“It’s impossible not to be moved by the richness of Ireland’s mythological heritage, and The Children of Lir remains one of our most enduring stories,” she says. “For me, it speaks to something fundamental within the Irish psyche. It is a story about identity, belonging and our enduring need for human connection.”
For the artist, it was equally important that the work was visually arresting and beautiful. “Beauty is fundamental to how we experience the world. During my years practising as a psychiatrist in New Zealand, we prescribed what were known as ‘green prescriptions’, encouraging people to spend time in nature. The natural beauty of the landscape can help us process difficult emotions,” she says.
The swans become symbols of a timeless human experience: even as we cross borders, endure change and inhabit unfamiliar landscapes, we continue to search for belonging without losing our sense of self.
Across the collection, luminous swans emerge from expansive fields of ultramarine, indigo and midnight blue. Their forms hover between abstraction and representation as layers of paint bleed, merge and fracture into luminous veils of colour and light.
Expansive passages of colour and space are an intentional part of McKeever’s painterly language, creating moments of stillness and emotional openness. “I’d love people to experience the exhibition as a complete body of work,” says McKeever. “More than anything, I hope it offers space for reflection and that, somewhere within it, they recognise something of their own emotional landscape.”
Anna McKeever’s Children of Lir collection is on view at Gormleys Dublin until July 27th.
