James Joyce: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Visual Response
Des Kilfeather
21st September  – 2nd October
Wordsouth Gallery

This body of work by Des Kilfeather comprises pigment ink prints from scanned or photographed watercolour marks made on pages of a found, 1966 copy of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The work includes the original source book, with pencilled comments by a previous unknown reader.

James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a Visual Response, represents a continuation of Kilfeather’s philosophical exploration of power, apathy and time. Drawing on his own personal experience of Irish Catholic culture, the work was Kilfeather’s emotional and reactionary response to his first reading of the book. Kilfeather absorbed the texts, made abstract watercolour marks onto pages of the book, plein air photographed these then applied a process of semi-destruction of the book in sea.

To resolve this phase, Kilfeather scanned pages containing anonymous handwritten comments, prepared for digital printing and published Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a Visual Response, as an eBook on Amazon and Google. These materials and processes establish the connection between Joyce’s early 20th Century, Kilfeather’s critical 1966 and contemporary culture.

“Portrait” is Kilfeather’s third body of work exhibited that visually explores the philosophy of James Joyce. Dubliners, a Visual Response and Contemporary Contextualisation, a travelling exhibition, was first published and shown in 2010, The Philanthropic Atheist was first shown in September 2011.

Kilfeather, winner of the 2010 UK National Open Art Competition, pictureframes.co.uk Endowment Prize, studied photography at the University of Brighton and aesthetics, painting and drawing at the Edward James Trust’s West Dean College and Fine Art at the University of Portsmouth.

Des Kilfeather Contact Details
Phone: 07795 342662
Email: des@deskilfeather.com
www.deskilfeather.com

Wordsouth Gallery
11  The Pallant
Havant
PO9 1BE


 

About the author

Lorrie Whittington wrote 124 articles on this blog.

Lorrie Whittington is a freelance artist & designer based in Chichester, West Sussex. Lorrie is the Publishing Director and Editor of Chichester Creative Network.