Put to the Sword is a solo exhibition by Belfast-based artist Miguel Martin. It continues the artist’s interest in the narratives of horror and ill-ease, but also takes a new direction in incorporating aspects of sculpture and exhibition design.

Central to the exhibition is a bronze-cast of a severed head, developed from a mould that the artist sourced on the internet. Reflecting upon the material processes and online transactions that led to the production of the head, Martin’s installation draws equivalence to the archeological discovery of beheaded  ‘bog bodies’ dating back to 8000 BCE, thought to be the victims of tribal warfare or ritual sacrifice.

Put to the Sword has been developed through Martin’s year-long relationship with CCA, as part of the Arts Council Northern Ireland’s Artist Career Enhancement Scheme (ACES).

Miguel Martin (b. 1985 Belfast, UK) BA Fine and Applied Art at the University of Ulster, Belfast (2005 –2008) Lives in Belfast and works at Platform Arts, Belfast. Solo shows include: 2015 Curio, Ards Arts Centre; 2015 Out of Site, University Art Gallery, Belfast; 2011 All Good in the Manhood, Abrons Arts Centre, New York. Recent Group shows: 2014 The FarAway Nearby, FE McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge; 2014 Presently, Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown; 2013 Jerwood Drawing Prize, Jerwood Space, London; 2012 You are now entering_____, CCA Derry/Londonderry. Residencies: 2013 University Of Ulster, MFA Artist in residence; 2011 Arts Council of Northern Ireland, New York Residency. Awards: 2015 Arts Council of Northern Ireland Artist’s Career Enhancement Scheme (ACES); 2014 –2015 Esmee Fairborn Artist’s Career Enhancement Programme; 2012 and 2011 Arts Council of Northern Ireland Support for Individual Artist Award.