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Paul MacCormaic
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The Secular Icons
Axis Arts Centre
​Ballymun, Dublin

November 2017
Right: Before and After, oil on board.

​​​​This is a body of work that was made over eleven years consisting small scale paintings in  the style of icons. The themes are secular versions of the subject matter of Byzantine icons, such as the ideal family and how to live a moral life. In the 21st century most people get instruction form the TV and internet in the form of advertising. This exhibition pokes fun and examines contemporary society.
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'On The Road' was shown in Axis Arts Centre, Ballymun , Dublin 2012 and toured to Toradh Gallery, Ashbourne, Co. Meath in 2013.

On the Road is a collection of paintings that took six years to assemble, which is concerned with the impact of 'progress' in Ireland. Villages get by-passed by motorways and workers make long commutes from satellite towns. Often the first casualty of a by-pass is the petrol station going out of business. The show is about all things to do with using roads, from getting a parking space to the beauty of night lights.

FAMILIAR, a joint solo exhibition with Una Gildea.

The concept that both Una and I were working on independently is the notion that in the modern age of TV celebrities and Internet friends, we seem to be familiar with people we do not actually know. Conversely, we can become separated and drift apart from those who really matter. I focused on how we are bombarded  with commercial images that make the characters within very familiar brand icons seem like old friends or family members. It was shown in 2010 at Unit H in the Market Studios, Dublin and toured to Thurles Arts Festival, County Tipperary.
ANIMALES! A solo exhibition in 2007 at Charlestown Arts Centre Co. Mayo.
This body of work is based on how animal imagery has entered our language and is used to illustrate human traits, for example a 'bottom feeder'. Animals have been used in fables for thousands of years and here I continue in the tradition of myth making.
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