Famine Art

Derry hosted an exhibit of art tied to the Great Famine that was put together by a university in Connecticut. It closed today so I drove up to have a look. First I took Mary out for lunch and had a catch up on her ailments and those of her brother, sister, and sister in law. It really made me grateful for mom's health, as our conversations don't revolve around medications and doctor visits.

The most striking painting was by Paul Henry of cottages on Achill Island. There's something about the way he layers paint on the canvass that makes the painting much more dramatic.

The strongest part of the show for me was the sculptures. The one above uses skeletons for the sails and crucifixes for the masts to represent the coffin ships on which so many died on their way to America. Another striking article were the tables below.

And a close up:

If my memory serves, 650 bodies were found under a car park in Staten Island. Most of them Irish immigrants. They had survived the famine and the coffin ship crossing only to die in detention--not healthy enough to enter the country. The artist listed the name, age, and diagnosis of all those in the mass grave.

The English blamed the Irish for the famine--they had too many kids and drank too much. Nothing to do with pushing the Irish off the most fertile land onto marginal, rocky ground where little could grow. Nothing to do with Irish land being mainly used to grow crops and livestock for English stomachs. Sure the Chinese are using the same playbook in Africa. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

I had a wee visit with Julie and her mom Hilda then headed home. There were two swing dances tonight but I was too tired to go to either.

March 16