A 13-year-old with a passion for farming is one of 18 Sligo children featured in a newly-commissioned series of portrait works entitled ‘The Sunset Belongs to You’, by two of the country’s leading artists, Mick O’Dea and Geraldine O’Neill.
After The Model arts centre in Co. Sligo made a callout in 2022 for young people to represent their communities and Adam Carty from Dromore West was selected.
Adam was painted by artist Geraldine O’Neill. The painting is called ‘Mise Éire: Garmhacasamhail,’ and is an oil on canvas.
Young people were asked to submit a small piece of writing, outlining why they wanted to be painted.
Adam’s entry read as follows:
“My name is Adam Carty and I live near the sea. Farming is my biggest interest, and I love hurling and Gaelic football too. I thought it would be cool getting my portrait painted. I think in the future people will be amazed at the painting, how different things were back then. I like The Model because there are lots of different paintings that interest me. I think their work is class, very different to others in different ways. Adam Carty, 2023.”
Adam has enjoyed helping out on his grandad’s beef farm in Ballygawley, Co. Sligo from a very young age. He spends his weekends doing jobs for his grandad, and also helps out his neighbour who is a sheep farmer.
“I clean out sheds, feed the animals, and go to the mart. I also go in the truck with my grandad’s other neighbour who is a cattle dealer,” Adam said. His grandad is very proud of him, he said.
Adam has suggested to his grandad that he should leave the farm to him, and his grandad has told him that he would need to do his Leaving Cert and Green Cert first. Adam’s ambition is to go into dairy farming.
The portraits depict children from diverse backgrounds living across Co. Sligo today. They provide a snapshot of a moment in time, and a hopeful glimpse into the Ireland of the future.
The paintings were commissioned to become part of the Niland Collection, Sligo’s municipal art collection, where they will have a meaningful presence alongside portraits of historic public figures, activists, artists and other changemakers.
In this context, these artworks demonstrate the potential of each child to lead the way with confidence and vision towards a bright democratic future for Ireland.
In commissioning the portraits, The Model sought to challenge the ingrained structures of portraiture, to question who is traditionally reflected in a public art collection, and who is overlooked.
Underpinned by the idea ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’, ‘The Sunset Belongs to You’ is an inclusive reflection of contemporary society in all its diversity and richness that will live on in Sligo’s municipal art collection as a historical document into the future.
Portraits of public figures, by both artists, feature prominently in Irish art collections, museums and institutions.
In 2018, Mick O’Dea painted Michael D. Higgins for the Oireachtas while in 2015, Geraldine O’Neill was commissioned to paint the portrait of designer John Rocha for the National Gallery of Ireland. Both artists took a different approach to their commission for this project.
Geraldine O’Neill visited each child in their home or favourite place, and completed the portraits over several months, through a slow and immersive engagement. Mick O’Dea, on the other hand, painted 12 portraits over the course of one week, in live sittings before an audience, during which he engaged the children, their families, and the public in a dialogue about portraiture.
The ‘Sunset Belongs to You’ is named after a painting by Jack Butler Yeats, one of Ireland’s most accomplished painters, who spent his childhood in Co. Sligo.
The commission and exhibition was supported by the Community Foundation for Ireland, and will continue until Saturday, March 2.