Reviews
Every picture tells a story
 By Grainne
McLoughlin
Over The Water
After two sell-out shows artist Bernard Canavan in his latest exhibition
— Over The Water — offers us memories of life in Ireland and
London in the 1950s and ‘60s.
The people represented range from powerful working men in trucks to ladies
in high heels in Camden Town who tell us about bravery, perseverance,
passion and lots more.
According to the Irish artist his exhibition will not only appeal to fellow
Irish people but to anyone who has left their homeland.
Canavan himself is one of these migrants who first came to London in the
1960s, where he worked as an illustrator in many of the underground papers
of swinging London. And the Irishman prides himself on his work being
a contribution both to the history of the Irish Diaspora and to the history
of the city.
The Ireland of the 1950s that these men and women left was close-knit
and traditional and Canavan depicts it with religious symbolism.
His symbols convey meaning: An aeroplane in The Supper representing an
Ireland to where there is no going back and The Long Straight Road is
a parable about life.
In the tongue-in-cheek Escapologist a travelling street entertainer tries
to free himself from his straitjacket as a middle-aged man passing a statue
to the 1798 rebellion as he leaves for the ferry with suitcase in hand.
This, Canavan reveals, is a bitter-sweet reminder of the link between
what we flee and what has helped to shape us.
But there is much more to appreciate from the world that’s past
yet remains in the hearts of many.
Over The Water’ runs from March
9-31 from 12-6pm at the Gallery, Willesden Green Library Centre, 95 High
Road, London NW10 2ST.
For further information contact www.bernardcanavan.com.
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