Identity

by helenmcnulty | Aug 27, 2021 | Painting

Identity, Oil on Canvas, 2004, 100 x 100 cm by Helen McNulty

I was 23 when I made this. It was from a dream of a lot of women marching up from the houses in Leicester (where I lived) and going to a hill. 

The dream is still vivid. 

The women left behind everything in the houses and went to the hilltop by the light of a very bright moon. 

When they got there, they held hands and started singing. 

That was it. A simple idea. A simple image, but it has stayed with me for a long, long time. 

I made this painting over 3 weeks. I painted every day on it, as I was afraid of forgetting it. 

I have no idea where the painting is now. It was in my sister's hair salon. 

The houses in the background were based on the sea of Leicester red brick houses that I swirled around daily, nestled in the middle of a row of beautiful houses in a place called Duncan Road. 

 

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